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CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 


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Edited by JOIN RICHARD GREEN, © 





CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. |i 


2) BY 
He Fe TOZER, M.A. 


AUTHOR OF “ THE CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF GREECE.” 


NEW YORK: 


D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 
1, 3, AND 5 BOND STREET. 


1888. 





























CONTENTS. 





PAGE 


1 @ 
CHAPTER I. | 
| 
GENFRAL REMARKS ON ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY. , e ° 5 | 


GHAPTER Il « | 
ek oc ihe Sar ae Se Oe ae ae eee aa eRe Naa Crs (8 





| 

CHAPTER IIL | 

DUM MAMEALESTING fo) tL i A oc ge 
| f 

CHAPTER IV. | 

Ree VEE ABRICAD 0. hs alee achive te! «43 1 
CHAPTER V. li 

ASIA MINOR, THRACE, MACEDONIA. . . .. sss 49 | ! 
CHAPTER VI. | 

Pen ie PREECE ow ge ee 8 cel ee fe te 8 63 tT 
CHAPTER VIL \} 

DPR reALGEEECR. 2). 0. fc ee Ses bro te eorn ene &: i 
CHAPTER VIIL 1 

THE PELOPONNESE AND THE ISLANDS ... .. . 82 1 
i i 
CHAPTER IX. bh 
MOeGMEBNGAND CENTRAL ITALY... 0-) 6 4) 2 ee 02 ie 
CHAPTER X. , 

TOPOGRAPHY OF ROME.—SOUTHERN ITALY AND SICILY 106 | 
CHAPTER XL. | 


DureOuULeAy LNG COUNTRIES OF EUROPE . 4. .. «!.« «120 


SO aie) 






























CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 


CHAR LER 1, 
GENERAL REMARKS ON ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY. 


1. Geographical Views of the Ancients.— 
The ideas of the’Greeks and Romans on the subject 
of geography, especially in the earliest times, were 
very limited. As the continent.of America was then 
unknown, and the extremities of the three great 
divisions of the Old World were unexplored, it was 
impossible that it should be otherwise. In_ the 
Homeric poems we find geographical knowledge 
confined almost entirely to the eastern basin of the 
Mediterranean. ‘The cities of the mainland of Greece 
and both the eastern and western coast of the A‘gean 
Sea are there familiarly spoken of, and Phcenicia and 
Egypt are known by name, though by the latter of 
these words Homer means the river Nile; but the 
seas and countries to the west of Greece are a region 
of fable, as may be seen in the mythical descriptions 
of Ulysses’ wanderings in the Odyssey, and total dark- 
ness hangs over the more distant lands, round which, 
as the ultimate boundary, the river Oceanus is sup- 
posed to flow. By the time of Herodotus the field 
of knowledge had been considerably enlarged, and 
that writer by his extensive travels and acute in- 
quiries added greatly to it; but even his views were 
often erroneous, as where he speaks of Europe as 
stretching along both the other continents and being 
much broader than they are; for, though this notion 
in part arose from his including in Europe much of 





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6 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY, [CHAP, 


what we should now call Russia in Asia, yet, as a 
matter of fact, the area of Asia alone is nearly five 
times as large as that of Europe. He also describes 
the course of the river Hister (Danube) as bending 
towards the south, in order to make its course corre- 
spond with that of the Nile, in accordance with a 
preconceived theory of a similarity between the 
northern and southern regions of the world. Much 
udditional information was obtained by the campaigns 
of Alexander the Great, who penetrated into the north 
of India, and as far as the Jaxartes in Central Asia ; 
and also by the foundation of the city of Alexandria, 
which, situated as it was near the meeting of Asia 
with Africa, and of the Mediterranean with the waters 
of the Southern Sea, formed a centre for gathering 
new facts from traders and other explorers. The 
spread of the Roman Empire further extended the 
area of knowledge, especially in respect of the north 
and west of Europe; so that Strabo, the great geo- 
grapher of the Augustan age, was able not only to 
give a detailed account of a large portion of the 
world, but also to fix the boundaries of the great con- 
tinents in much the same way as they are received 
now. But even he supposed that the Caspian was a 
gulf running in from the Northern Sea; and Ptolemy 
(A.D. 160), in whom the geographical science of the 
ancients culminated, considered that the south-eastern 
part of Asia was joined to the extremity of Africa by 
a southern continent. From his time onwards the 
knowledge of the subject made but little progress 
until America was discovered by Columbus, and 
Africa was circumnavigated by Vasco de Gama. 

2. Seas of the Old World.—The Southern 
Sea.—The great sea to the south of Asia and east of 
Africa bore different names at different periods, and 
these varied somewhat in their application. Some 
geographers, as Herodotus, call it the Southern Sea 
(7 vortn Oadaooa), while others speak of it as the 














I.] REMARKS ON ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY. 7 


Indian Ocean. This latter name, when used in its 
more restricted sense, signified the part immediately 
to the south of India, which also forms two great 
gulfs on either side of that peninsula, viz.,>:the 
Gangeticus Sinus (Bay of Bengal) to the east, and 
Mare Erythraum to the west. The term ‘‘ Red Sea 2 
deserves especial notice, because it often had a more 
extended application than at the present day. When 
Herodotus speaks of the épv6pi) 04Xaaca, he seems to 
include the whole of the Southern Sea, together with 
the two gulfs on either side of Arabia; and when he 
wishes to distinguish the westernmost of these gulfs, 
he calls it the Arabian Gulf (Apdfuo¢ cdAroc).  Sub- 
sequently this gulf had the name “Red Sea” appro- 
priated to it, as we find it in the New Testament, and 
as we use it at the present day ; while that to the east 
of Arabia was called the Persian Gulf, from its washing 
the southern and western shores of the land of Persis. 
These two great inlets form a contrast to one another, 
for while each of them is entered by a narrow strait, 
the Persian Gulf has a more irregular outline, and 
curves somewhat towards the north-west, where it 
receives the combined waters of the Euphrates and 
Tigris ; whereas the Arabian Gulf, or Red Sea proper, 
is distinguished by its greater length and extreme 
straightness, and at its head divides into two branches 
—the gulf of Herodpolis (Gulf of Suez), which runs 
up towards A’gypt, with an average width of thirty 
miles, and sandy shores; and the Elanitic Gulf (Gulf 
of Akaba), which penetrates into Arabia, twelve miles 
wide, and flanked by rocky mountains. Between 
these lay the peninsula of Sinai. The Red Sea has 
been in all ages a great highway of traffic, as it is the 
natural route by which the products of southern Asia 
and eastern Africa are brought to the west: thus 
we hear of Solomon and Hiram, king of Tyre, send- 
ing a fleet of ships from Ezion-geber, on the Gulf of 
Akaba, to bring gold from Ophir (1 Kings ix. 26-28). 








8 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


3. The Western and Northern Seas.—The 
sea to the west of Europe and Africa was from early 
times called the Atlantic (4 ’ArAavric), from Mount 
Atlas, which was supposed to dominate the west of 
Africa, and from the mythological being with whom it 
was associated ; and wasalso called the sea outside the 
Pillars of Hercules (i) £w rév ornday Oadacaa), or simply 
the Mare Externum. By some Latin writers, especially 
poets, it is called Oceanus. Fora long time it was con- 
sidered not to be navigable, for the western regions were 
regarded as shrouded in clouds and darkness; but as 
early as 500B.c. a Carthaginian expedition under Hanno 
explored the coast for a considerable distance to the 
south, while another penetrated north as far as Britain. 
It was somewhere in this western sea that the Islands 
of the Blessed (Maxdpwy vijcot) were supposed to be 
situated; and when the Canary Islands, Madeira, 
and the other groups in their neighbourhood were 
discovered by the Romans, as they were before the 
Christian era, they were identified by them with that 
fabulous place, and called Fortunate Insule; though 
the beauty of country and delightful climate which are 
attributed by the early Greek poets to the Maxapwy 
vijcoe are So fully realised there as to suggest the idea 
that the legend may have had some foundation in real 
information. Whether the Island of Atlantis, which is 
mentioned in more than one of Plato’s dialogues as 
existing in the western ocean, is anything more than 
a creation of that writer’s imagination, it 1s hard to say ; 
but it is certain that several classical writers suggest the 
possibility of there being a great western continent, thus 
anticipating the discovery of America. The most famous 
passage to that effect is in the lines of Seneca :— 


‘* Venient annis szecula seris, 
Quibus Oceanus vincula rerum 
Laxet, et ingens pateat tellus, 
Tethysque novos detegat orbes ; 
. . . + 9? 
Nec sit terris ultima Thule. 














1) REMARKS ON ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY. 9 


The different bays of the Western Sea received different 
names from the tribes or places in their neighbour- 
hood ; thus the part immediately beyond the Pillars 
was called Oceanus Gaditanus, from the city of Gades 
(Cadiz) ; the Bay of Biscay, Oceanus Cantabrius; the 
entrance to the English Channel, Oceanus Gallicus ; 
and the Channel itself, Oceanus Britannicus. The 
Oceanus Germanicus, to the north of this, and the 
Oceanus Sarmaticus, or Mare Suevicum (Baltic), were 
regarded as parts of the great Northern Ocean 
(Oceanus Septentrionalis), to which, from the reports 
of its vast masses of ice, the names Mare Concretum 
and Mare Pigrum are also given. 

4. The Mare Internum. Its Characteristics. 
_Far more important to the ancient world than the 
seas that have been hitherto mentioned was the great 
central basin, called in ancient times the Mare 
Internum (if gow Oddacea), in contradistinction to the 
outlying oceans, and at the present day the Mediter- 
ranean. About its shores lived the peoples with 
whose history we are most concerned, and who did 
most to advance the civilisation of the world. To 
this result the sea itself in no slight degree contributed, 
for it was the highway of nations, by which races who 
were separated from one another by rugged tracts of 
country were enabled to hold communication. Without 
‘t the inventions of the East, such as weights and 
measures and the alphabet, would not have passed 
from Tyre to Greece; the colonies, which carried 
Pheenician and Greek culture to lands before barbarous, 
would not have been founded ; the area of commerce 
would have been greatly restricted ; and a thousand 
quickening influences, arising from contact with other 
nations, and the reception and interchange of new 
ideas, would have been lost. The nature of its coasts 
combined with the character of their inhabitants to 
determine the direction which civilisation should take. 
The comparatively uniform outline of the north of 











10 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


Africa forms a striking contrast to that of southern 
Europe, which is broken up into numerous deep inlets, 
while these again are subdivided into countless bays 
and harbours of smaller size, and fringed with islands, 
Besides this, while on the side of Africa no river of 
any importance except the Nile flows into the Medi- 
terranean, on the north it receives the waters of the 
Ibérus, Rhodanus, and Padus, and through the Black 
Sea those of the Hister, Borysthénes, Tanais, and 
others. To navigators it has been at all times a 
dangerous sea, owing to the currents formed by its 
numerous gulfs, the fickleness of the winds, and the 
sudden storms that descend from its projecting 
headlands. But these drawbacks were more’ than 
compensated by the nearness of land and the shelter 
of commodious harbours—safeguards which were 
wanting in the open sea, and were especially needed 
in the infancy of navigation. 

5. Its Divisions.—This sea naturally divides 
itself into'three great basins: the easternmost being 
formed by the Island of Crete, together with the coastof 
the Cyrenaica, which bends forward from the continent 
of Africa to meet it, and comprising the waters that 
wash the coasts of AXgypt, Syria, and the south of 
Asia Minor, together with the Aigean Sea. The 
central basin is still more strongly defined at its 
western extremity, where the angle of the Carthaginian 
territory, now Cape Bon, approaches closely to Sicily. 
This portion includes the Adriaticand the Ionium Mare, 
which lies beyond the outlet of that sea, between 
Greece and Sicily; while to the south, where the 
African coast forms a bay between Cyrene and Car- 
thage, lie the two gulfs called the Syrtes, well known 
for their dangerous reefs—the Syrtis major forming 
the eastern, the Syrtis minor the western angle. ‘The 
western basin extended from Sicily te the Straits 
(Fretum Gaditanum), the two lofty rocks on either 
side of which, that of Calpe (Gibraltar) on the Spanish, 














I.] REMARKS ON ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY. II 


and that of Abyla (Ceuta) on the African shore, were 
called the Pillars of Hercules. In this lay the two 
large islands of Corsica and Sardinia, and those of the 
Balearic group. The part immediately to the west of 
Italy was called the Mare Inferum, in contrast to the 
Adriatic, which was called the Mare Superum. In 
exploring this sea the Phoenicians were, as usual, the 
first in the field. ‘The foundation of their colony at 
Gades, at a distance of 2,000 miles from Tyre, where 
the Tyrian Hercules was worshipped and gave his 
name to the Straits, is a proof of their boldness in 
navigation ; and their daughter and ‘rival city of 
Carthage, standing as it does at the meeting-point of 
the central and western basins, and at the point of 
nearest approach of Europe and Africa, shows their 
penetration in the choice of a site. The Greeks 
followed but slowly in the same track, At first, as 
we have already seen, their knowledge was confined 
to the eastern basin, and almost entirely to the 
fEgean Sea; then they cross from the southern 
islands to Africa and found Cyréne, and feel their 
way round. the north of the central basin by the 
extremity of Italy and the east coast of Sicily, where 
their earliest colonies in that island were established ° 
but, though the Phoczeans, in founding Massilia on 
the south coast of Gaul, ventured on a bolder track, 
it was long before the Greeks had more than a vague 
knowledge of the western basin. At the height of the 
Roman power the entire sea was so completely 
enclosed by the provinces of the Empire, that the 
Latin writers frequently speak of it as Mare Nostrum. 
The Euxine Sea, and the others in the same system 
with it, together with the inland seas, like the Caspian, 
will be spoken of in connection with the countries in 
their neighbourhood. 

6. Mountain Systems of the Old World.— 
In tracing the connection of the mountain chains of 
the Old World we must begin from Eastern Asia. 
2 








12 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. (CHAP. 


There two great ranges have their origin—to the north 
the great Altai chain, to parts of which the name 
Imaus was given in ancient times, starting from the 
extremity of the continent near Behring’s Straits, and 
following a south-westerly course into Central Asia; 
while from the south-east the Himalaya runs diagonally 
to meet it, forming the northern boundary of India. 
Between these lie the vast elevated plateaux of Tibet 
and Tartary, the height of which in some places is 
10,000 feet above the sea. From the point where these 
two chains approach nearest to one another, near the 
sources of the Indus, the ground descends westward 
to a lower, but still elevated, plateau, that of Iran 
or Ariana, on the north of which run the mountains 
that separate it from the Caspian Sea, on the south 
those that border the Southern Sea, and are continued 
through Persis and Media, forming the eastern boun- 
dary of the great Assyrian plain. To the south-west 
the ground again rises in the highlands of Arabia, of 
which the chain that runs through the north of Africa, 
not far from the coasts of the Mediterranean, may be 
regarded as a further continuation. To the north-west 
the plateau of Iran is continued in Armenia, and 
throws off two great branches ; to the north the lofty 
chain of the Caucasus, which stretches, like a massive 
wall, from the south-west of the Caspian to the north- 
east of the Euxine; to the south the mountains of 
Syria and Palestine. Still further to the west, in Asia 
Minor, the elevated land of the interior is separated 
from the Mediterranean by the Taurus ranges, from 
the Euxine by those of Olympus ; and these again are 
the parents of the principal European chains. In 
Europe the all-important line of demarcation is that 
which separates the central from the southern portion, 
rising first in the Hzemus, which is connected with the 
mountains of Asia Minor by lower hills; then con- 
tinued westward, first in the Dinaric Alps, and afterwards 
in the Alps themselves to the north of Italy ; and 

















1.] 


finally forming the Pyrenees between Gaul and Spain. 
In the two eastern peninsulas of the Mediterranean, 
Greece and Italy, the mountains that intersect them 
run southward at right angles to this base-line, but 
in the westernmost, Spain, they follow the same 
direction with it, running from east to west in parallel 
lines. The mountains of Central Europe are of less 
importance for ancient history; but they may be 
conveniently grouped as forming an arc, the chord of 
which is the same base-line. ‘These are the Cevennes, 
which start from the neighbourhood of the Pyrenees, 
and run northward on the western bank of the Rhone ; 
the Jura, between France and Switzerland ; the Vosges, 
between France and Germany ; after which the various 
ranges of Germany bend round towards the Carpath- 
ians, and these last descend to the Balkan. It only 
remains to add the mountains of Britain and the 
Scandinavian peninsula, which form a cluster in the 
north-west of Europe. 

7, The Three Great Continents.—The 
idea of dividing the world into three continents 
seems to have arisen subsequently to the Homeric 
age, for the names by which they were afterwards 
distinguished—Europe, Asia, and Libya (the Greek 
name for Africa)—are not found in the Homeric 
poems. ‘These names were well established before 
Herodotus’ time, but that writer disapproved of 
this distribution of the continents, since, according 
to his views of geography, A‘gypt was not 
rightly included in Libya, and Europe extended 
to the north of Asia. Still, a glance at the 
map will show that the received division is a 
reasonable one, especially in the case of Africa; and 
though the boundaries between Europe and Asia 
are not equally well defined, yet the continuous line 
of demarcation formed by the A%gean, Propontis, 
Euxine, and Palus Mzotis, together with the course 
of the river Tanais, which flows into the last-named 


REMARKS ON ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY. 13 








14 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP, 


sea, was enough to suggest and to justify Strabo’s 
view that the limit should be fixed here; and this 
is in some respects more accurate than the modern 
view, which places it at the Ural Mountains, the 
Caspian, and the Caucasus, 

8. Physical Configuration of Europe, Asia, 
and Africa.—Now when we come to compare these 
continents in respect of their configuration, we are 
at once struck by the contrast they present to one 
another as regards their organic character. Africa, 
with its vast levels, its extensive lake-systems and 
river-valleys, but little divided by definite mountain 
chains, and its uniform coast-line, rarely broken up 
into bays or indented with harbours, is the lowest in 
the scale of development, an almost inorganic mass 
of ground. The numerous peninsulas of the coast of 
Asia, and the clearer demarcation of its various districts, 
give that country a considerable advantage; but its 
huge proportions, exceeding those of Europe and 
Africa together, cause a great part of its area to be 
removed from the sea, and the elevated table-lands, 
which occupy so large a portion of its surface, impede 
communication and are ill suited for the habitation of 
man. ‘The continent of Europe, on the other hand, 
is like a highly developed organism. If Africa may 
be compared to the hoof of one of the more unwieldy 
animals, and Asia to the finer and more flexible paw, 
then Europe resembles the human hand, from the 
elaborate division of its parts and the opportunities 
it affords for contact. On every side, except towards 
the east, where it attaches itself to Asia, the sea 
penetrates deeply into the land, so that the peninsulas 
occupy about one-fourth of the whole area; and the 
coast-line is further indented by numerous creeks and 
harbours, whence arises its extreme length in com- 
parison of the mass of the country. Besides this, the 
mountains, though sufficiently well-defined, are not so 
massive as to prevent communication ; there are no 

















1.] REMARKS ON ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY. 15 


great table-lands or desert regions, but the surface 
generally is distributed into plains, hills, and valleys 
of moderate size; and the country is watered by 
numerous rivers, which rise at no great distance 
from one another in the centre of the continent. 
9. Political Comparison of the three Con- 
tinents.—From the foregoing comparison it will 
readily be understood that the character of the three 
continents must have greatly influenced their history. 
Even if the inhabitants of Africa had been of a high 
type, it would have been difficult for them, under such 
unfavourable conditions, to attain to a superior culture. 
It is true that it was in the valley of the Nile, and in 
the neighbourhood of the Tigris and Euphrates in 
Asia, that the first great civilisations arose ; nor must 
we Omit to mention in passing the early development 
of the races of India and China. But these were not 
destined to influence in any great degree the fortunes 
of mankind, and the stationary character and sudden 
decline of the culture of the A‘gyptian and Assyrian 
kingdoms are to be attributed to the same causes as 
their early and rapid rise. For in primitive times, 
when commerce was hardly known, and it was neces- 
sary that every country should provide for its own 
wants, the combination of a hot climate and a well- 
watered soil was necessary to provide the means of 
life for a large population ; and without a large popu- 
lation it would have been impossible that the great 
works, such as pyramids, temples, and palaces, should 
have been constructed, which are the principal 
monuments of the civilisation of those countries : 
but as the people were kept for the most part in a 
state of degradation, the culture came to an end with 
the dynasties by whom it had been maintained. In 
Europe, on the other hand, we find all the conditions 
of the highest and most permanent civilisation. 
Instead of the torrid climate of Africa, and the 
extremes of heat and cold which prevail in Asia, 


10* 











16 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


that country enjoys a temperate and equable climate, 
which neitner impedes the industry of man nor 
relaxes his energies. Instead of producing articles of 
luxury, such as spices and gems, it is capable of 
affording an ample supply of the necessaries of life, 
and allows of the gifts of many other.lands being 
naturalized within its limits. ‘The seas which washed 
its coasts, by penetrating far into the interior, at once 
divided the inhabitants into distinct nationalities, and 
provided them with the means of communication ; 
and the same effect was produced in the more con- 
tinental parts by the numerous rivers and the moderate 
height of the mountain-chains. It was only in such 
a country that political freedom could be developed, 
and varied forms of civilisation arise. ‘There, by the 
independent existence and growth of various peoples, 
different types of national character, and different 
forms of government were produced, and freedom of 
thought was fostered in individual men, because they 
were not subject to uniform conditions of life, like the 
great masses of people of which Oriental states are 
composed. And while the separate peoples were 
thus stimulated to a healthy rivalry, and learned to 
look beyond themselves and their own ideas, there 
were no insuperable barriers to prevent them from 
acting in common. Of this process of development 
we see the earliest and perhaps the most striking 
examples in Greek and Roman history, and further 
progress has been made in the same direction in 
subsequent ages. 

10. Races inhabiting the three Continents. 
—The races by whom these continents were peopled 
are generally divided into three great families, viz., 
the Indo-European, the Semitic, and the Turanian. 
The last-named of these, which is also called Allo- 
phylian, is mostly composed of nomad and barbarous 
tribes, and includes the majority of the inhabitants of 
Africa, and those of Central and Northern Asia. The 








1.] REMARKS ON ANCIENT GEOGRAPLY. 17 


Semitic family is represented by the Jews, the 
Pheenicians, the Arabians, and, to some extent, the 
Assyrians. But the family from which the races of 
greatest importance to ancient history, with the 
exception of the Jews, have proceeded, is the Indo- 
European or Aryan. ‘The original home of the 
ancestors of this family is the plateau of Iran, ‘or 
Ariana, in Asia, of which we have already spoken. 
When the tribe broke up from this primitive seat, it 
divided into two main branches, Eastern and Western. 
To the eastern belong, on the one hand, the Medes 
and Persians; onthe other, the Indians, who ultimately 
descended on to the peninsula that has since borne 
their name. The western branch includes most of 
the inhabitants of Europe, and is in its turn divided 
into four great stocks, the Slavonic, the Celtic, the 
Teutonic, and the Pelasgic. ‘To the Slavonic stock 
belong the Sarmatians and other inhabitants of what 
is now called Russia ; to the Celtic the races of Gaul 
and Britain, and in part also of northern Italy; to 
the Teutonic the inhabitants of Germany, and most 
of the tribes whose irruptions ultimately broke up 
the Roman Empire. The Pelasgic, or Greeco-Italian 
stock, included the Hellenes and other cognate races 
of the Greek peninsula, together with several of the 
tribes of Asia Minor, and most of those who inhabited 
the centre and south of Italy and Sicily, the Etruscans, 
perhaps, being an exception. In any historical review 
of the various countries of the world it is important 
to bear these relationships in mind, especially because, 
as a general rule, it is only races which have some 
affinity to one another that combine satisfactorily to 
form one nation. 

11. Historical Influence of Mountains, 
Rivers, &c.—Before proceeding to the description 
of the various countries of the ancient world, it is 
important that we should notice the influence that the 
different physical features have exercised on their 








18 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. (CHAP. 


inhabitants ; for the object of studying geography is 
not merely that we may be able to give some account 
of the countries themselves, but still more that we may 
understand the history of those who occupied them. 
Now the two great limits by which nations or races 
are separated from one another are the mountains 
and the sea; but these two influences act as_ barriers 
in somewhat different ways. For, while the mountains 
are absolute limits and the passage from one side of 
them to the other has to be made, so to speak, in 
spite of them, the sea, on the other hand, is, from one 
point of view, a means of uniting peoples, because its 
surface affords a ready means of transit, when once 
the art of navigation has arisen. ‘Thus, while it is 
true, with Horace, to speak of the ocean as déssociabilis, 
it is also true, with Homer, to call it typa xéAevOa, or 
the highway of nations. The influence of rivers is of 
a different kind. We often find, indeed, that a great 
river is taken as a boundary between countries, because 
it forms a definite and permanent line, about the course 
of which there can be no dispute; but this is not its 
natural influence. If we follow the migrations of 
barbarous hordes, we usually find that, while they are 
easily diverted from their route by a range of mountains, 
they seldom find any difficulty in crossing the greatest 
rivers ; and the same thing is true of the passage of 
armies. Rivers are essentially a means of communi- 
cation. At an early period the course of a stream is 
like a finger-post to guide the explorer in a certain 
direction, and at all times their waters serve to carry 
the products of one country to another, and those of an 
inland district to the sea. Again, the mountains have 
been at all times the nurse of hardy and independent 
races, while the inhabitants of the plains, as we have 
seen in speaking of Assyria and A®gypt, are of a softer 
and more yielding material Hence many of the 
greatest changes in history have arisen from mountain 
tribes descending on to the lowlands in their neigh- 





























1. ] UPPER ASIA. 19 


bourhood and overpowering their occupants; as, for 
instance, when the Medes made themselves masters 
of Assyria, and when the Thessalians migrated from 
their original seats in Epirus into the plains of Thessaly, 
and thus set on foot the movement which.ended in 
the passage of the Dorians into Peloponnesus, and 
the re-arrangement of most of the races in Greece, 
Similar effects have arisen from the neighbourhood of 
hot and cold countries, for the migratory tribes which 


gain a precarious subsistence in a cold region are apt 


to press forward towards a warmer and more fertile 
district, where they live in ease and plenty, and learn 
the arts of civilised life, until they in turn are overrun 
by other hordes. With this process we are familiar 
in the breaking up of the Roman Empire, when wave 
after wave of barbarians invaded Italy. 


CHAPTER II. 
UPPER ASIA. 


1. Outlying Countries of Asia— Serica, India. 
—In examining the various countries of the ancient 
world, we naturally commence from Asia, as that 
continent was the cradle of the human race, or, at 
all events, the earliest seat of those peoples who have 
exercised the greatest influence on the history of 
mankind. The geography of its outlying districts 
need not detain us long, as they were very imperfectly 
known to the Greeks and Romans, and remotely con- 
nected with them. The area, which is now occupied 
by the vast empire of China, was divided between 
two races; in the north the Seres, who were princi- 
pally known to the Romans through the silk trade, 
that article being already produced in great quantities 
in that country ; in the south the Sine. The Indian 
peninsula was known in its general features, especially 
the two great rivers that water it on the north, rising 
at no great distance from one another, and flowing to 


















































20 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. (CHAP. 


the south-west and south-east respectively ; viz. (1) 
the Indus, which was reached by Alexander the Great 
during his famous eastern campaign in the district 
where it receives the waters of five great streams, 
which for that reason is now called the Punjab (five 
waters). ‘The most important of these tributaries are 
the Hydaspes (Jelum) and Hypanis or Hyphasis 
(Sutlej). (2) The Ganges, which was considered the 
greatest of all rivers, and is described by Virgil as 
‘septem surgens sedatis amnibus.’ ‘This flowed into 
the Gangeticus Sinus on the eastern side of India, 
while the Indus found its way into the Erythrzean 
Sea. The principal exports which came to Europe 
from India were gold and ivory. To the south of the 
peninsula lay the island of Taprobane (Ceylon). 

2. Scythia.—The Jaxartes and Oxus.—The 
country which in later times was called by the ancients 
by the name of Scythia comprised a large part of 
central and northern Asia, and was divided into two 
portions by the Mons Imaus (part of the Altai chain); 
the district between those mountains and Serica being 
Scythia extra Jmaum, and corresponding to the 
modern Tibet, while the part between them and the 
Caspian, and for some distance towards the north, 
was Scythia zzt7a Jmaum. The last-named region con- 
tained two important rivers, the Jaxartes (Sir) and the 
Oxus (Jihon), both of which flow from east to west, 
the Jaxartes being the more northerly of the two: at 
the present day both of them discharge their waters 
into the Sea of Aral, but this does not seem to have 
been the case in ancient times. The Jaxartes indeed 
has not changed its course, though ancient writers 
speak of it as flowing into the Caspian ; but this may 
be true, if, as is sometimes thought, the Sea of Aral 
was formerly a bay of that great inland sea, and not, 
@s It is now, a separate piece of water. The Oxus, on 
the other hand, almost certainly flowed directly into the 
Caspian, and its channel in the latter part of its course 














I1.] UPPER ASIA. 21 


was different from that which it now follows: hence 
it formed a great artery of traffic, by which the produce 
of Central Asia passed by way of the Euxine into 
Europe. Between the upper courses of the two rivers 
lay Sogdiana (Bokhara), and on the lower course of 
the Jaxartes dwelt the Massagéte, in fighting with 
whom Cyrus lost his life. In his description of that 
occurrence, Herodotus calls that river the Araxes. It 
was afterwards reached by Alexander the Great, who 
founded a city on its banks, which he called Alexan- 
dria Eschate, as marking the furthest hmit of his 
empire. ‘The tribes who inhabited Scythia cannot be 
regarded as forming one people, though in all prob- 
ability most of them belonged to the Turanian family 
(see p. 16); the reason why they were included 
under one name was that they were all nomads and 
travelled in tented waggons. So Horace describes 
them as “‘ Campestres Scythe, quorum plaustra vagas 
rite trahunt domos.” Hence the name was employed 
at different periods in very different senses, and to 
signify the inhabitants of distinct districts. Still, it is 
certain that there was a race who properly bore the 
name of Scythe, and Herodotus speaks of them as 
mainly inhabiting the countries to the north of the 
Euxine, between the Hister and the Tanais, in the 
steppes of Southern Russia, though others were 
settled further to the east. Itwas from them that the 
name came to bear a more general sense in later times. 

3. Sarmatia.—Sarmatia, like Scythia, was divided 
into two portions, which were called Asiatic and 
European Sarmatia. But in this instance also the 
name was used in a narrower and a wider acceptation, 
for the Sauromate of Herodotus occupied a limited 
area on the east of the Tanais (Don) and Palus 
Mezdotis (Sea of Azov). This latter form of the name 
was afterwards extended by the Greek writers, so as 
to include the rest of Asiatic Sarmatia; and the 
Roman poets use Sauromata and Sarmiata_ indiscri- 











22 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


minately, according as one or the other best suits the 
verse. The boundaries of the Asiatic portion were 
the Caucasus on the south; on the east and west, the 
Caspian and Euxine, and the Rha (Volga) and Tanais ; 
and on the north the watershed from which the 
streams begin to flow to the Northern Sea. Of the 
European portion the Vistula was regarded as the 
western, the Tanais the eastern limit; and in the 
opposite direction it extended from the Baltic and Gulf 
of Bothnia to the Carpathians and the neighbourhood 
of the Euxine. Here, as in the case of Scythia, a 
great variety of tribes must have been included in so 
wide an area; but it would appear that in its original 
and proper application the name belonged to races 
of the Slavonic stock. 

4. The Plateau of Iran or Ariana.—We turn 
now to the great central district, which lies between 
India and the deserts of Arabia, and is bounded on 
the north by the Caucasus, the Caspian Sea, and the 
country to the east of it, and on the south by the 
Persian Gulf and Erythreean Sea. Within this region 
all the great Oriental monarchies arose; on the 
western side, those of Assyria, Babylonia, Media, and 
Persia; on the north, that of Parthia. The central 
and eastern portion of it is occupied by the great 
table-land, which is called Iran or Ariana, and lies 
on an average 4,000 feet above the sea, enclosed 
on all sides by ranges of mountains. We have already 
seen that this upland level is a continuation of the 
still higher plateaux of Tartary and Tibet (p. 12) ; 
and also that it was the original seat of the ancestors 
of the various tribes of the Indo-European family 
(p. 17); the other name of which, Aryan, is con- 
nected with that of the country. It was eminently a 
pastoral region, and that primitive people was a race 
of shepherds. The mountains of Gedrosia separated 
it from the Erythreean Sea, those of Persis from the 
Persian Gulf, those of Media from the valley of the 

















Th UPPER ASIA. 23 


Euphrates and Tigris. The north-western portion 
was occupied by Parthia, between which country and 
the Caspian the Hyrcanian mountaias intervened ; 
the north-eastern portion by Bactria. 

5. Parthia, Bactria.— Parthia was a very moun- 
tainous country, and to this feature and its remote- 
ness we must attribute its greatness. While the great 
Persian Empire was at its height, Parthia, as might be 
expected, was unable to make head against it; but 
the defeat of Crassus (B.c. 53) showed the Romans 
how serious an enemy they had to contend against 
in the Parthians, and all through the Augustan age 
they were the most dreaded antagonists of the masters 
of the world. ‘To reach that country from the west 
it was necessary to penetrate, either through the 
rugged mountains of Armenia and Media, or else, 
from the side of the Caspian, through the lofty range 
now called Elburz, forming a westerly continuation of 
the Hyrcanian mountains, which reaches at one point 
an elevation of more than 18,000 feet. The principal 
pass that led through this was called the Caspian 
Gates (Caspiz Pyle), and this afforded an entrance 
both into Parthia and Media. The principal town 
was called Hecatompylos, and was the residence of 
its rulers, the Arsacide. Bactria, with its capital city 
Bactra, occupied a somewhat similar, though still more 
remote, position among the mountains near the head 
waters of the Oxus. The successors of Alexander, 
who ruled Syria, of the family of the Seleucide, 
reduced this country to the condition of a province ; 
but about the middle of the third century B.c. the 
Bactrians recovered their independence, and for nearly 
200 years maintained a very flourishing kingdom, as 
is proved by their numerous and handsome coins. 

6. Armenia.—The plateau of Iran is continued 
towards the north-west in a still more elevated table- 
land, that of Armenia, which is as much as 6,000 feet 
above the sea. The position of this country is 
3 











24 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. (CHAP. 


remarkable as occupying a great part of the triangle 
which lies between three seas, the Mediterranean, the 
Euxine, and the Caspian. In consequence of this, 
and of its standing between Greece and Rome on the 
one side, and Persia and Parthia on the other, it was 
the scene of continual struggles, either for its own 
independence, or in the contests between those 
empires. Nor is it less conspicuous as the birth- 
place of great rivers, of which the Euphrates and 
Tigris flow towards the Persian Gulf, the Araxes to 
the Caspian, and the Acampsis to the Euxine. In 
the midst of its upland plains and valleys lie several 
lakes of great size, the most important of which, that 
of Arséne (Van), is as large as the Lake of Geneva. 
In consequence of its elevation the climate is very 
severe, and the ground is deeply covered with snow 
during many months of the year. Xenophon in the 
Axnabasis tells us of the sufferings and privations that 
he and his soldiers experienced in consequence of 
this in passing through Armenia; and he also 
describes the custom of the inhabitants of living 
in underground dwellings, which prevails at the 
present day. Its boundaries are, on the south 
Mesopotamia and the Median mountains; on the 
east the Caspian; on the north the tribe of Ibéri, 
who separate Armenia from the Caucasus; on the 
west Asia Minor, the limit of which is formed by the 
ranges of Taurus and Anti-Taurus: these mountains 
also penetrate into Armenia, the highest point of 
Taurus beiag the Mons Niphates, to the west of Lake 
Arsene. In contradistinction to the Armenia which has 
been now described, the name of Armenia Minor is 
sometimes given to the neighbouring part of Asia 
Minor, south of the kingdom of Pontus; the line of 
demarcation of the two Armenias was the Euphrates. 
The passes by which the country could be entered 
were from Trapezus on the Euxine, which has always 
been a favourite route for traffic from Upper Asia ; from 

















































11] UPPER ASIA. 


the interior of Asia Minor, to the south of Lesser 
Armenia; and from Mesopotamia, by a way that 
passes near the head waters of the Tigris. But all of 
these presented great difficulty to an invading army. 
In the northern part of the country rises the highest 
of all its mountains, Ararat, a gigantic snow-covered 
mass, with two summits, the loftiest of which is more 
than 17,000 feet above the sea. Placed as it is, it 
appears like a huge boundary stone to mark the 
division of continents ; and, as a matter of fact, at the 
present day, parts of its lower declivities are possessed 
by the three empires of Russia, Turkey, and Persia. 
The earlier capital of Armenia, Artaxdta, was situated 
in the northern districts, on the banks of the Araxes, 
near Mount Ararat; while the later, Tigranocerta, 
which was founded by Tigranes, and sacked by 
Lucullus in his eastern expedition, was on an affluent 
of the Tigris, to the south of Mount Niphates. 

7. The Caucasus, and Tribes in its Neigh. 
bourhood.— The river Araxes (Aras) rises in the 
north-west part of Armenia, and flows round to the 

| east, under the northern slopes of Mount Ararat; 
after which it finds its way into the Caspian. Before 
reaching that sea, however, it is joined by the waters 
of another considerable river, the Cyrus (Kur), 
flowing from the north-west, where the watershed 
lies, from which the streams drain to the Euxine 
and the Caspian respectively. This watershed lies 
much nearer to the former of these seas, and in the 
interval between it and the easternmost bay of the 
Euxine was the land of Colchis, so famous in early 
Greek story from its connection with the Argonauts. 
The river which intersects it is the Phasis. The 
valley of the Cyrus and its tributaries, lying between 
Armenia and the Caucasus, is the land of the Ibéri 
(Georgia). Between these and the Caspian were the 
Albani, who also occupied the eastern part of the 
chain of Caucasus, and some part of the territory 











26 





CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


north of it. The Caucasus itself, which stretches 
across the whole isthmus, between the Euxine and 
Caspian, maintaining a great average elevation, and 
in its highest summits, Mounts Kazbek and Elburz, 
reaching the height of 16,000 and nearly 18,000 feet, 
is a most imposing mountain barrier. Just at its 
centre it is cut through by a remarkable pass, called 
in ancient times the Caucasiz or Sarmatice Pyle, 
and at the present day the Pass of Dariel. A second 
pass led round its eastern extremity between the 
mountains and the sea, called Albani, or Caspize 
Pyle. ‘This must be carefully distinguished from the 
pass of the same name on the south of the Caspian. 
8. The Euphrates and Tigris.—On either 
side of the sources of the Araxes there rise two 
streams, which flow towards the south-west, separated 
from one another by a spur of Anti-Taurus, and 
joining their waters to the south of Armenia Minor, 
form the Euphrates (Frat). This important river, 
which the Jews emphatically called ‘the great river,” 
and the course of which extends to 1,780 English 
miles, formed the ultimate boundary of the Roman 
Empire, which was only for a short time advanced 
beyond it in the reign of Trajan. Shortly after the 
junction of its two streams it bends towards the south, 
and here on the one side, among the Armenian moun- 
tains, lay the province of Sophéne; on the other, 
pushed out from the south-east of Asia Minor and the 
north of Syria, that of Commagéne: both of these at 
various periods, even under the Roman Emperors, 
existed as separate kingdoms. The Euphrates then 
flows to the south-west, towards the innermost angle 
of the Mediterranean, and into that sea it would dis- 
charge itself, were it not for the intervening range of 
Taurus ; but being diverted at that point, it makes a 
sharp bend, and flows towards the south-east with 
many windings, between the fertile districts of Meso- 
potamia and Babylonia and the Arabian deserts, until 














cs 


11.] UPPER ASIA. 27 


it reaches the Persian Gulf. Its principal tributary 
was the Chaboras (the Araxes of Xenophon), which, 
together with its numerous affluents, flowed from the 
mountains in the north of Mesopotamia. The most 
important passage of the stream was at Thapsacus, 
near the bend just mentioned, and by it was the usual 
line of communication between Asia Minor and 
Persia. It was forded by the army of the younger 
Cyrus, and Alexander constructed there a bridge, 
from which it afterwards bore the name of the Zeugma. 
By this also Crassus passed on his fatal Eastern expe: 
dition. The most famous places on the banks of the 
ltuphrates were—at its point of junction with the 
Chaboras, Circesium, the Carchemish of Scripture, 
where Pharaoh Necho, King of Egypt, was defeated 
by Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. xlvi. 2); near the place 
where it approaches closest to the Tigris, Cunaxa, 
where the great battle took place between Cyrus 
and his brother Artaxerxes, ending in the defeat and 
death of the former, from which event commenced 
the retreat of the Ten T housand ; and somewhat 
lower down the stream the great city of Babylon. 
The Tigris rises in three separate streams, the western- 
most of which flows from Sophene, close to the 
Euphrates, the easternmost from Mount Niphates ; 
and after these have united it skirts the mountains of 
Assyria, passing Nineveh, and at the southern extremity 
of Mesopotamia comes within twenty miles of the 
Euphrates, with which river it was connected by. 
means of canals. Near this point, on the right bank 
of the Tigris, the important city of Seleucia was 
founded by Seleucus Nicator; while close by, on the 
left bank, was Ctesiphon, which rose to importance 
with the decay of its neighbour, and was the winter 
residence of the Parthian kings. After this the Tigris 
again withdraws from its sister river, until at last they 
join their waters some distance above their entrance 
into the sea. 

















28 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. (CHAP. 


9. Mesopotamia—Babylonia.—The extensive 
district between the Euphrates and Tigris was called 
Mesopotamia, or “the land between the rivers.” 
This, however, did not include the country enclosed 
by their lower course, which was known as Babylonia, 
the point of division being the waist formed by the 
approach of the two rivers, where a great fortification, 
called the Median Wall, was carried across from one 
to the other, having been erected at an early period 
by the rulers of Babylon to prevent the incursions of 
the Medes. On the north Mesopotamia was bounded 
by the mountains of Armenia. In the Bible it is 
commonly known as Padan-Aram, It was, on the 
whole, a level country, but not in the same sense as 
Babylonia, the whole of which was an unbroken 
alluvial plain ; hence, also, as well as from the climate, 
arose the difference of their products ; for while much 
timber was brought from the forests of Mesopotamia, 
and its pastures supported numerous herds of cattle, 
few trees were found in Babylonia, except the date- 
palm, which was of great importance to the natives, 
and the extreme fertility of the soil produced extra- 
ordinary crops of corn. ‘The principal cities of 
Mesopotamia, in addition to those already noticed 
on the banks of the Euphrates, were: Edessa, an im- 
portant town in the north-west, forty miles from the 
Zeugma of the Euphrates, situated on a tributary of 
that river, the Scirtus—this was probably the site of 
Ur of the Chaldees, the original home of Abraham 
and his ancestors; Charrhze, somewhat to the south 
of that place, the scene of the great defeat of Crassus 
by the Parthians, which also was Haran, the place 
to which Abraham migrated before he finally departed 
into Canaan (Acts vii. 2); and Nisibis, the capital of 
Mygdonia, the north-eastern district of Mesopotamia, 
which was rebuilt by one of the successors of 
Alexander, and called Antiochia Mygdoniz, and was 
a frequent bone of contention between the Romans 














11.] UPPER ASIA. 29 


and the Parthians. In Babylonia we need only notice 
the capital, Babylon, of the size and magnificent 
buildings of which Herodotus has left us a vivid 
description—a city exactly square, with gigantic walls 
and a hundred brazen gates, divided into two parts 
by the Euphrates. Babylonia was the seat of the 
first great Eastern kingdom, that of Nimrod, before 
Nineveh became the head-quarters of the Assyrian 
dominion. . From that time it was subject to the 
Assyrians, until, about B.C. 750, it asserted its in- 
dependence, and rose to be the great power that 
carried away the Jews into captivity. After its con- 
quest by Cyrus it became a province of the Persian 
Empire. When we hear of Chaldzea as a separate 
district, it means the territory about the lower course 
of the separate stream of the Euphrates. 

1o. Assyria.—Assyria, in the proper sense of the 
term, was the long and comparatively narrow country 
reaching southwards from the confines of Armenia, 
and separated from Media by the lofty range of 
Zagros, and from Mesopotamia by the Tigris. In 
other words, it was the region of the eastern affluents 
of that river. The principal of these are the Zabatus, 
or Lycus (Greater Zab), towards the north, which 
flowed from the territory of the Cardiichi, through whom 
the Ten Thousand made their retreat ; and the Gyndes 
towards the south, entering the Tigris somewhat above 
Ctesiphon. As was the case with most of the other 
great kingdoms, the original name received a wider 
application with the extension of the empire, and 
Mesopotamia and Babylonia came to be included in 
Assyria. The great city of Ninus, or Nineveh, which 
was the centre of the Assyrian Empire, and of which 
such great remains have lately been discovered near 
Mosul, was situated in the neighbourhood of the 
Tigris, not far from the point where it received the 
waters of the Zabatus. According to some authors it 
was even greater than Babylon, and the splendour of its 








30 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [cHAP. 


sculptures and other monuments bear witness to a very 
remarkable civilisation. It was to this country that the 
tribes of Israel were carried into captivity. The city 
was ultimately captured, and the kingdom brought to 
an end by the Medes under Cyaxares (B.c. 606). A 
little to the east of the Zabatus lay Arbéla, in the neigh- 
bourhood of which the great final struggle took place 
between Darius of Persia and Alexander the Great. 
11. Media, Susiana, Persis.— Eastward of 
Assyria, and reaching from thence to the confines 
of Ariana, was the territory of the Medes, the next 
great power in Upper Asia. Media was an elevated 
country, well suited for training a hardy race of 
soldiers. Its northern division, called Atropaténe, 
formed the natural link between the tablelands of 
Jran and Armenia; but the southern and larger part 
was that which is most associated with the history 
of the people, and contained their capital, Ecbatina 
(Hamadan). The territory of Susiana, which lay 
to the south of this, was a continuation of the 
same mountainous district towards the head of the 
Persian Gulf. Its principal river is the Choaspes, 
which joins the Euphrates below its junction with 
the Tigris. The northern district, from which it flows, 
is called Elymais, the original Elam, by which name 
this entire district is called in Scripture. On its 
eastern bank was situated the city of Susa, which 
became the centre of government in the Persian 
Empire, so that the chief treasury was there, and 
roads were made to lead to it from all the provinces. 
To the south-east of Susiana again, between the Per- 
sian Gulf and Ariana, were the highlands of Persis, 
the original home of the most powerful race in Asia, 
and the most dreaded enemies of the Greeks. From 
this centre their empire was extended over a great 
part of Asia, so that it included twenty satrapies, 
which yielded an enormous income, and _ furnished 
unlimited supplies of soldiers. The ancient capital, 














III.] SYRIA AND PALESTINE. fe age 


Pasargadee (Murghab), was situated in the centre of 
the country, and from its containing the tomb of 
Cyrus and other historical memorials, became to the 
Persian nation what Moscow is to modern Russia, the 
object of veneration from its associations. ‘The later 
and more splendid capital, Persepolis, which was 
burnt by Alexander, lay somewhat further to the 
north. By shaking off the yoke of the Medes, by the 
defeat of Croesus, and by the capture of Babylon, 
Cyrus established the supremacy of the Persians. In 
this, and in the previous overthrow of the Assyrian 
Empire by the Medes, we have an illustration of the 
tendency in history already mentioned (page 18), of poor 
and hardy mountain tribes to overpower the wealthy 
peoples of the lower country in their neighbourhood. 

At the close of this survey it may be well to notice 
that the Medes and Persians, together with the Arme- 
nians, and probably also the Parthians, belonged to 
the Indo-European family of the human race; the 
Assyrians to the Semitic ; and the early Babylonians, 
or Accadians, to the Turanian family. We should 
also remark the number of Greek cities which were 
founded throughout Upper Asia by Alexander and 
his successors, such as Alexandria Eschate, Seleucia, 
and Antiochia Mygdoniz—and many others will have 
to be added in Syria and Asia Minor—for these were 
of the greatest importance in spreading Greek civi- 
lisation, and still more in providing a means of com- 
munication in the Greek language. 


CHAPTER, IIT, 
SYRIA AND PALESTINE. 


1. Syria.—We now turn to those districts of Asia 
which lie between the Mediterranean Sea and the 
deserts of Arabia. The name of Syria is some- 
times used as embracing the whole of these, but it 


iis 














32 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


may be more convenient to consider it in its more 
restricted sense, as signifying the country northward 
from the sources of the Jordan, thus excluding 
Palestine. Its. mountains are an offset from the 
great range of Taurus in the south of Asia Minor 
and west of Armenia, and follow the line of the 
coast. southwards, leaving at intervals spaces of level 
land between their bases and the sea. The northern 
part of this chain is called Mons Amanus, and 
where this descends on the sea, the difficult passage 
is formed which was called the Syrian Gates; while 
in the south are the two parallel ranges of Libanus 
(Lebanon) and Anti-Libanus, which are continued 
northward, though under different names, through the 
central region. Of these mountains, far the most 
conspicuous is Lebanon, which rises at one point to 
the height of nearly 12,000 feet ; hence its name, like 
that of the highest mountains in many parts of the 
world, means the “ White Mountain,” and Tacitus 
speaks of it as being, even in the heat of summer, a 
resting-place for snow—*“ fidum nivibus ” (Hist. v. 6) 
Anti-Lebanon culminates at its southern extremity in 
Mount Hermon, which is 10,000 feet high. We hear 
in Scripture of the famous forests of fir and cedar on 
Lebanon, the wood of which was used in building the 
temple of Solomon, and furnished the Phoenicians 
with materials for their vessels; at the present day 
there is hardly any trace of these, a single group of 
cedars being all that remains. Between Libanus and 
Anti-Libanus lies the long and extremely fertile valley- 
plain of Coele-Syria, or Hollow Syria, and here. the 
tour most important rivers of Syria and Palestine 
take their rise and flow in different directions—the 
Orontes and Leontes in the valley itself, the Jordan 
and Abana in the neighbouring mountains. The 
source of the Orontes was in the neighbourhood of 
Baalbek or Heliopolis, remains of the famous tem- 
ples of which place are still standing; from thence it 














III. ] SYRIA AND PALESTINE, 33 


pursues its course to the north between the mountains 
in which Libanus and Anti-Libanus are prolonged, 
and then, making a sharp bend near Antioch, falls 
into the Mediterranean. ‘The Leontes, rising in the 
same watershed, takes a similar, though shorter, course 
towards the south, and enters the sea with a cor- 
responding bend between Sidon and Tyre. Of the 
Jordan we shall speak later on. 

2, Damascus; Antioch; Palmyra.— The 
Abana issues from copious sources on the eastern 
side of Anti-Libanus, and being joined by the other 
river which is mentioned in Scripture in the same 
connection, the Pharpar, flows in innumerable chan- 
nels through and around Damascus, and then loses 
itself in two lakes in the direction of the desert. 
From this circumstance arises the luxuriant vegetation 
of that city, which is often spoken of as the most beau- 
tiful in the world. Damascus was the early capital of 
the Syrian kingdom, and dates from a high antiquity, 
for it is mentioned in the book of Genesis (xiv. rs ; 
xv. 2). Ata later period it was eclipsed by An- 
tioch, the capital of the Greek rulers of Syria, the 
Seleucidz. This place, which, to distinguish it from 
other cities of the same name, was called Antioch on 
the Orontes, was situated on the left bank of that 
river, about twenty miles distant from the sea. Its 
soft climate and beautiful surroundings made it a 
suitable place of residence for a luxurious dynasty. 
On the sea-coast, somewhat to the north of the mouth 
of the Orontes, was its port, Seleucia, while on the 
opposite side of that river the Mons Casius rose to 
the height of more than s,000 feet. The site of 
Antioch was well chosen for purposes of commerce, 
for it was connected with the sea by a navigable river, 
and on the land the distance was comparatively short 
to the Euphrates and Mesopotamia. The old trade- 
route from Syria to the interior, however, was by 
Tadmor or Palmyra (both these names mean “the 











34 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


city of palm-trees”), which was situated on an oasis 
in the Syrian desert, about half-way between Damas- 
cus and Circesium on the Euphrates. Hence that 
city was from early times an important station ; but 
it rose to its greatest celebrity shortly before its fall, 
under Zenobia, the widow of its king, Odenathus, 
in the time of the Emperor Aurelian (a.D. 270). Of 
the outlying regions of Syria, to the south of Da- 
mascus, we may notice Itureea, to the east of Galilee, 
beyond the spurs of Hermon; and Trachonitis, which 
lay eastward of this towards the desert. Of Deca- 
polis, or the district of the ten cities, we can speak 
with Jess confidence, for towns in very different parts 
of the country are included in it by different writers ; 
but we may place it in part to the east of the Sea of 
Tiberias. 

3. Phoenicia.—Though Phcenicia was properly a 
province of Syria, yet both in its position and its history 
it is so independent of the rest of the country, that it 
requires to be considered separately. It comprised the 
district between Mount Libanus and the sea, extending 
from beyond the northern extremity of that range to a 
point somewhat south of Mount Carmel. This territory, 
though 120 miles long, is seldom more than twelve 
miles broad, and is divided into a number of small 
distinct areas by spurs of Libanus, which form pro- 
montories on the coast. In this respect it resembles 
the district: of Achaia, in the north of the Pelopon- 
nese; and this may account for both those countries 
being under a federal government ; for, as by nature 
they were formed into numerous separate states, con- 
tizuous to one another, and enclosed by a:common 
boundary-line, it was necessary to their safety that 
these states should form a confederation. ‘The prin- 
cipal cities of Phoenicia were : Aradus, in the northern- 
most portion of the territory; then Tripolis, so called 
from its being the federal town of the three chief cities, 
Aradus, Tyre, and Sidon ; between this and the con- 








IIL. | SYRLA AND PALESTINE. 35 
spicuous headland on which Berytus (Beyrout) stands, 
was the river Adonis, the name of which is associated 
with the licentious rites of the Syrian Aphrodite 
(Astarte or Ashtaroth), which were performed at its 
source; the waters of the stream were said to be 
annually reddened by the blood of Thammuz (Adonis). 
Then follow Sidon, Tyre, and Ptolemdais, the modern 
Acre, with its famous bay, the southern boundary of 
which was formed by Mount Carmel. 

4. Tyre and Sidon.—Two of these cities, Tyre 
and Sidon, were of the utmost importance to the 
ancient world, not from their having fostered any 
of “the thoughts that shake mankind ”—for their 
policy, like that of Venice, which state in so many 
points they resemble, was from first to last a selfish 
one, and even their maritime discoveries were kept 
secret, lest other rivals should enter on the same field 
—but because of their widely-extended colonies, in- 
cluding Carthage, and still more because they carried 
the arts of life to Greece, where they found a more 
congenial home. Nowhere in antiquity was the art 
of shipbuilding so early and so fully developed ; 
nowhere was navigation so skilful and so bold. To 
the Greek waters they resorted for the purple mussel, 
from which was extracted the famous Tyrian dye, and 
on the shores of the A®gean, as, for instance, on the 
Island of Thasos, and at Scapte-Hyle on the mainland 
of Thrace, they had settlements for the working of 
gold-mines ; and in return they introduced into those 
countries the alphabet and other inventions, and 
various southern trees, such as the cypress and the 
palm. At an early period it would seem that Sidon 
was the more important of the two cities, but Tyre 
has been more famous from its more lasting pro- 
sperity, and from the famous sieges it underwent from 
the armies of Shalmanezer, king of Assyria, Nebu- 
chadnezzar of Babylon, and Alexander of Macedon. 
No better idea can be obtained of the greatness of 
4 














36 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. (CHAP. 


Tyre than by reading the xxvi.-xxviil. chapters of 
Ezekiel, which refer to the siege of Nebuchadnezzar. 
That by Alexander is the most famous siege in ancient 
history, on account of the extraordinary devices re- 
sorted to on both sides. The city of Tyre (in this 
point also resembling Venice) was situated on an 
island, separated by a channel, about three-quarters 
of a mile wide, from the mainland, where stood the 
old town, or Palz-Tyrus. In order to approach the 
city, Alexander filled up the whole of the intervening 
space with a huge mole, so that ever since that time 
Tyre has been joined to the neighbouring continent. 
At the end of seven months the place was captured 
(B.C. 332), but not from the land side, for the breach 
was made from the sea by means of battering-rams 
fixed on vessels. ‘The native name of Tyre was Sor, 
whence comes the name Sarra, sometimes used by the 
Romans, as where Virgil speaks of Tyrian purple as 
‘«Sarranum ostrum.” 

5. The Jordan and Dead Sea.—The deter- 
mining feature of the topography of Palestine is the 
Jordan. Its name signifies “the descender,” and is 
especially appropriate, because hardly any other river 
in the world has so rapid a fall in proportion to the 
length of its course. Rising between two spurs of 
Anti-Libanus, near the city of Czsarea Philippi, where 
once stood Laish, or Dan, the northernmost limit of 
the Holy Land, it flows due south, which direction it 
maintains throughout its course, and after passing 
through the small lake of Merom, reaches that of 
Galilee or Tiberias, which gs more than 300 feet 
beneath the level of the sea. Emerging from this, 
it descends in rapids with such steepness to the Dead 
Sea, that that piece of water is actually 1,300 feet 
below the Mediterranean. ‘There it is lost, the waters 
escaping, it is supposed, by evaporation. That extra- 
ordinary lake, from its barren, salt-encrusted shores, 
its bituminous waters, its power of supporting heavy 














Ii. ] SYRIA AND PALESTINE. 37 


bocies, and the volcanic phenomena by which it is 
surrounded, has excited the wonder both of ancient 
and modern writers. At its southern end a low water- 
shed separates it from the long valley which runs 
down to the head of the Gulf of Akaba, suggesting 
the idea that at some remote period the Jordan 
may have flowed into the Red Sea. From the 
eastern side a tributary, the Jabbok, flows into the 
Jordan, and another stream, the Amon, into the 
Dead Sea. 

6. Physical Conformation of Palestine.— 
Into the geography of Palestine, full as it is of inter- 
esting details, we can only enter very briefly. In 
order to understand its physical conformation, it will 
be well to take two sections of the country, first from 
west to east, and then from south to north. If we 
draw a line across it at the parallel of Jerusalem, we 
first pass through a level district between the sea and 
the foot of the mountains, the western part of which 
is a sandy strip skirting the coast, the eastern a belt 
of extremely fertile land. Then the hills rise towards 
the east until they reach the height of 2,000 feet, after 
which they descend steeply in a succession of terraces 
to the Ghor, or Jordan valley. In this the vegetation 
is almost tropical, from its deep depression and shel- 
tered situation. On the further side the ground again 
rises in the mountains of Gilead, which pass by a 
gradual transition into the desert uplands of Arabia. 
Again, if we follow the central mountain-chain from 
south to north, we commence with what is called in 
Scripture “the south country,” on the edge of the 
southern desert, from whence there is a rapid rise 
towards Hebron, near which the highest elevation 
(about 3,000 feet) is reached; after this the range 
continues to be well defined, until it is suddenly 
brought to an end by the plain of Esdraélon or 
Jezreel, which crosses the whole country from the 
sea almost to the Jordan, intersected by the stream 














38 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY, [CHAP, 


of the Kishon, and flanked on its western side by the 
steep slopes of Mount Carmel. To the north of this 
plain the mountains again rise, and ultimately attach 
themselves to the chain of Anti-Libanus. From Her- 
mon also at the end of that chain proceeds the parallel 
range, which skirts the eastern side of the Jordan valley. 
This diversified area, though now for the most part 
bare, was in ancient times highly productive— a land 
flowing with milk and honey.” We can also see from its 
position that, though it lay between the great empires 
of Assyria and A‘gypt, at the meeting-point of the east 
and the west, and consequently was specially fitted to 
become, in the fulness of time, a starting-place for 
the preaching of the Gospel, it was yet a land apart, 
in which the true religion could be maintained 
intact; being bounded on the one side by a wide 
expanse of desert, and on the other by an almost 
harbourless sea. 

7. Position of the non-Israelite Inhabi- 
tants of Palestine.—Before the entrance of the 
Israelites into Palestine the country was in the 
hands of a number of tribes, either related to them 
through the family of Abraham, or of a distinct race ; 
though it should be remembered that the Canaanites, 
and also the Pheenicians, belonged to the same Semitic 
stock as the Hebrews. The Philistines are an excep- 
tion, for they seem to have come from over the sea, 
whence arose their worship of the fish-god, Dagon, 
and their name in the Septuagint version is “ aliens ” 
(aAA¢gpvdcr). By them the southern part of the mari- 
time plain was inhabited, while in its northern part 
was the plain of Sharon, famous for its fertility and 
its flowers. This and the other level lands, the plain 
of Jezreel and the Jordan valley, were in possession 
of the Canaanites (“ Lowlanders”), in the restricted 
sense of the term. The central mountains were occu- 
pied by the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Hivites, 
lying in that order from south to north—the Hittites 











111] SYRIA AND PALESTINE. 39 


about Hebron, the Jebusites about Jerusalem (anciently 
Jebus), the Hivites about Gibeon. In the wild moun- 
tains to the west of the Dead Sea lived the Amorites 
(“ Highlanders”), but their principal seat was on 
the east of the Jordan, where, after expelling the 
Ammonites and Moabites, they had founded two 
great kingdoms, that of Sihon, in the land of Gilead, 
and that of Og, further to the north, in Bashan. Of 
the tribes related to the Israelites we find the Ammo- 
nites and Moabites, the descendants of Lot, beyond 
the Dead Sea and Jordan; Ammon, between the 
Jabbok and the Arnon, Moab to the south of the 
last-named stream. For some distance to the south 
of the Dead Sea extended Idumezea, the territory of 
the Edomites, Esau’s descendants, which contained 
the celebrated defile of Petra, the direct route from 
the Gulf of Akaba to the eastern side of Palestine. 
One tribe of this family, the Amalekites, were settled 
between the Philistines and the Amorites on the 
southern border of the Holy Land. The Ishmaelites 
and Midianites, descended from the children of 
Abraham by Hagar and Keturah, occupied parts of 
the southern desert. 

8. Position of the Tribes of Israel.—The 
history of the tribes of Israel is intimately connected 
with their position in the country. In some cases the 
occupation of the tribe was determined by it. In the 
history of the Judges, the tribe from which a judge 
arises is frequently decided by the neighbourhood of 
that tribe to the common enemy. The outlying 
tribes, also, and those in the least defensible positions, 
either disappear or remain in insignificance, while the 
power is in the hands of those well posted in the 
centre of the country. Simeon, who occupied the 
“south country,” soon faded away on the edge of 
the desert, ‘according to Jacob's prophecy, that he 
should be “ divided in Jacob and scattered in Israel” 
(Gen. xlix. 7). On the lofty mountains to the north 

















40 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


of this lay the lion tribe of Judah, which, especially 
after the capture of the citadel of Jebus (Jerusalem), 
held the strongest position. To the north-west of 
Judah, towards the country of the Philistines, was the 
tribe of Dan, from which arose Samson, the great 
opponent of that nation. Further northward on the 
ridge was Benjamin, the tribe of Saul, which com- 
manded the passes that led, on the one side from the 
Jordan up to Bethel, and on the other by Beth-horon 
and Ajalon into Philistia. Then followed Ephraim, 
Joshua’s tribe, in the territory of which Samaria was 
situated ; and on the extremity of the ridge, overlook- 
ing the plain of Jezreel, the half tribe of Manasseh, 
descended from Joseph’s other son. When the wan- 
dering Midianitish tribes overran that plain, it was 
from this tribe that Gideon was raised up as a 
deliverer. The plain itself was possessed by Issachar, 
who fulfilled Jacob’s prophecy, that like “ a strong ass 
couching between two burdens,” he should become a 
servant to tribute for the sake of the pleasantness of 
the land. Owing to its position, the plain of Jezreel 
has been in all ages the great battle-field of Palestine. 
The northern territory was occupied by the three 
tribes of Zebulon, Naphtali, and Asher, which from 
their outlying position were the first to be carried into 
captivity. Of these, Zebulon lay between the Sea of 
Galilee and the Mediterranean, Naphtali still more 
remote towards the sources of the Jordan, while Asher 
(to use the words of Deborah’s song) “abode in his 
creeks,” being the only one of the tribes which lay 
along the seashore. ‘The land on the further side of 
the Jordan was chosen by the two and half tribes, as 
being suited for flocks, they being pastoral tribes. 
The half tribe of Manasseh settled in the forest land 
of Bashan, Gad in the uplands of Gilead, and Reuben 
further south, where, like Simeon, they gradually dis- 
appeared. 

9g. Subsequent Divisions of Palestine.—At 














111. | SYRIA AND PALESTINE. 4I 


the time of the Gospel history, we find Palestine con- 
sisting of three divisions, Judaea, Samaria, and Galilee, 
Samaria being intermediate between the other two. 
The territory on the other side of Jordan bore the 
name of Perzea, or “the land beyond.” Of the towns 
most frequently mentioned in the Gospel narrative, 
Bethlehem lay to the south of Jerusalem, Bethany to 
the east of the Mount of Olives, Jericho on the western 
side of the Jordan valley, near where that river enters 
the Dead Sea, Nazareth on the hills to the north of 
the plain of Esdraelon, and Tiberias, Bethsaida, and 
Capernaum on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. 
When regarded as a Roman province, its capital was 
Ceesarea Stratonis, on the coast south of Carmel, as 
Antioch was the capital of the province of Syria. 
Thus it was that St. Paul was taken to Ceesarea for 
trial, that being the residence of the Roman pro- 
curator, whereas the officer in charge at Jerusalem, 
called in Scripture ‘the chief captain,” was only a 
military tribune. A good deal of confusion is intro- 
duced into the divisions of the different districts at 
this period by the Roman custom of encouraging the 
formation of native kingdoms from time to time. 
Such was the kingdom of Herod the Great in Judea, 
and also the tetrarchies, into which his dominions 
were distributed between his sons. Again, in St. 
Paul’s time, while a portion of this territory, varying 
in extent, was ruled in succession by the two kings 
called Herod Agrippa, and other portions by Roman 
procurators, Damascus was in the possession of Aretas, 
the king of Arabia. Similar kingdoms have already 
been noticed in Sophene and Commagene, in the 
north of Syria. We must not suppose, however, that 
these states were really independent of Rome; and the 
object the Romans had in view in permitting them to 
exist was to render these outlying parts of their empire 
more tranquil through native influence, and to secure 
a more regular payment of their revenues. 

















42 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. {CHAP, 


to. Jerusalem.—The site of Jerusalem at once 
determined it as the most commanding spot in the 
Promised Land. It was beyond all others a mountain 
city. Though surrounded by mountains, so that it 
could truly be said, “the hills stand about Jerusalem,” 
it was itself 2,000 feet above the sea, on the edge of a 
table-land, which slopes on the one side towards the 
Jordan, on the other towards the Mediterranean. On 
three sides it is surrounded by deep valleys, which 
form, as it were, a natural trench around it—on the 
west and south by the valley of Hinnom, on the east 
by that of Jehoshaphat, in which flowed the brook 
Kedron. From these, especially on the south side, 
the rocks rose precipitously ; but towards the north 
the access was more easy, and from this side it was 
attacked in the final siege under Titus. Jerusalem 
was composed of three quarters—the Upper, the 
Low 
which had to be stormed successively by the Romans in 
that siege. The first of these quarters, which lay towards 
the south, overlooking the valley of Hinnom, was the 
lofty citadel of the Jebusites, which so long defied the 
Israelites, and after its capture was known as Zion, or 
the City of David. Beyond this to the north was the 
Lower City, or Acra, which, as its name implies, was 
also a conspicuous eminence. When Tacitus in his 
description of Jerusalem speaks of “duos colles tm- 
mensum editos” (Hist. v. 11), he refers to this and 
Zion. From the eastern side of this, though separated 
from it by a ravine, and inferior in elevation, Mount 
Moriah projected towards the valley of Jehoshaphat, 
ficing the Mount of Olives, which was on the oppo- 
site side of Kedron. Moriah was occupied by the 
temple area, the courts of which rose one within the 
other, until the whole was crowned by the Temple 
itself. The Roman fortress, which in the classical 
writers is called the Turris Antonia, and in the Acts 
of the Apostles ‘ the castle,” was built in a precipitous 











Iv.] ARABIA, 4EGYPT, AFRICA. 43 


position at the north-west angle of this area. Between 
Zion and Moriah intervened the valley of Tyropceon, or 
the Cheesemakers, at the mouth of which was the Pool 
of Siloam. These divisions composed the original city 
of Jerusalem, but as time went on, when the popula- 
tion became too large for these limits,-a~part.of the 
more level land towards the north was. enclosed, and 
this was called the New City, or Bezetha. 


CHAPTER\ IV. 
ARABIA, EGYPT, “AFRICA. 


1. Arabia: Sinai.—The great country of Arabia, 
the area of which is hardly less than that»of_all.the 
countries of Asia which we have considered, west of 
India, has been compared in respect of its shape to a 
hatchet, the edge of which is surrounded by the 
Erythrzean Sea. ‘The interior is a vast plateau, several 
thousand feet above the sea, and thus forms a link 
between the highlands of Iran and those of northern 
Africa; and the correspondence between the countries 
on either side of it is further increased by both of 
them being separated from it by a deep depression— 
to the east by that of the Euphrates valley and the 
Persian Gulf, to the west by the Nile and the Red 
Sea. The whole of this elevated area is a sandy 
desert, only here and there relieved by oases of 
verdure in the neighbourhood of the springs ; along 
considerable portions of the sea-coast, however, there 
is a belt of vegetation, especially in the south-west 
corner, the country of the Sabzeans, which was famous 
for its spices, the chief export of Arabia. To this 
part, on account of its fertility, was originally given 
the name of Arabia Felix, which was afterwards 
applied to the whole country south of a line drawn 
from the head of the Arabian to that of the Persian 
Gulf. Of the other divisions, the northern part 














44, CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. (CHAP, 


between Palestine and the Euphrates was called 
Arabia Deserta, while that which extended from the 
peninsula of Sinai to Petra on the southern border of 
the Holy Land, was called from that city Arabia 
Petrzea (4 xara zy Ilérpay ’ApaBia). The Sinaitic 
peninsula occupied the angle formed by the two gulfs 
at the head of the Red Sea (p. 7). The northern 
and wider part of this was the desert of the wander- 
ings of the Children of Israel ; the southern part was a 
knot of massive granite mountains, and in the heart of 
these, where lofty peaks overlook a plain of somewhat 
more than a mile in length (Wady Musa), is the tradi- 
tional position of Mount Horeb, and the scene of the 
giving of the Law. 

2. AEgypt: the Nile Valley.—Herodotus cails 
ZEgypt emphatically ‘a gift of the Nile,” and this is 
true, not only of its southern portion, but also of the 
Delta, which must originally have been a bay of the 
sea, lying in a depression between the Libyan and 
Arabian deserts, until it was filled up by the rich 
alluvium of that river. Consequently, in giving an 
account of A‘gypt, we have to study the geography of 
the Nile valley. In the upper part of its course the 
great stream consists of two branches, of which the 
eastern is now called the Blue, the western and most 
important the White, Nile: near the junction of these 
in ancient times stood the town of Meroé, in modern 
that of Khartoum. From this point to its mouth, its 
course may be divided into three parts: (1) from 
Meroé to Syéne; (2) Upper A’gypt, from Syene to 
Cercasorum ; (3) Lower A®gypt, or the Delta, from 
Cercasorum to the sea. The first of these divisions 
was in the land of A‘thiopia, and may be called the 
region of the cataracts ; which, however, must not be 
conceived of as cascades or waterfalls, but as rocky 
rapids, which can be shot by boats. As the Nile 
forms a natural highway of traffic, the products of 
Ethiopia were from early times brought down into 











1v.] ARABIA, 4EGYPT, AFRICA. 45 


Aigypt. At Syene, which is 500 miles from the sea, 
the cataracts cease, and Upper A@gypt begins. This 
country is a long rockbound valley, widening gradu- 
ally, but very gradually, as it advances northwards, 
the breadth being on the average seven, but no- 
where exceeding eleven miles. The intervening 
space 1s mainly occupied by the river and the soil 
which it has deposited. Another peculiarity that we 
should notice, as distinguishing the Nile from all 
other rivers, is that in the whole of this long course 
it does not receive a single tributary. The great city 
of this district was Thebes, the ruins of which are 
the most famous in all A®gypt. At Cercasorum, 
where the stream of the Nile begins to divide, Lower 
Egypt begins; though the city of Memphis, some- 
what higher up the stream, might perhaps more rightly 
be taken as the point of demarcation between the two 
territories. The importance of that place arose from 
its central position, and to the same cause is to be 
attributed the greatness of the modern Cairo, which 
lies close by, on the opposite bank of the stream. 
Not far from Memphis was the Lake Meeris, beyond 
the mountains on the western side of the valley. 

3. The Delta.—Lower A°gypt was in shape an 
equilateral triangle, and was called by the Greeks the 
Delta, from its resemblance to that letter. The whole 
area was an unbroken level of black soil, the deposit 
of the Nile, whence the inhabitants called the land 
Chemi (“black”) : in the spring this is covered with 
the richest vegetation, thus justifying Virgil’s epithets 
in the line— 


“Et viridem 7Egyptum nigra fecundat arena.” 


This effect was. largely produced by the yearly 
inundation, which arose from the moisture, with 
which the north winds from the Mediterranean were 
charged, being precipitated when they reached the 
mountains of /Ethiopia, thus swelling the upper 














46 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


tributaries, and causing the Nile itself to flood. ‘The 
inundation continued from the beginning of July to 
the end of November, attaining its maximum in 
September. Herodotus compares- the towns and 
villages at that season, as they stood out of the water, 
to the islands which rise out of the AX¥gean Sea. The 
Delta was at all times intersected by the arms of the 
Nile, which was commonly described as entering the 
sea by seven mouths. Of these the most important 
were: on the eastern side the Pelusiac branch, on the 
upper part of which were situated the important cities 
of On or Heliopolis, and Bubastis ; in the centre the 
Sebennytic branch, which, from its flowing straight 
onward, had the strongest claim to be the true repre- 
sentative of the Nile; and to the west the Candpic, 
on which lay the ancient city of Sais, and Naucratis, 
the trading town which the Greeks were allowed to 
establish in the country. This last branch was con- 
nected by a canal with the Lake Maredtis, which lay 
close to the coast; and on one part of the narrow 
belt that separated this lake from the sea was built 
Alexandria, in front of which was the Island of Pharos 
with its famous lighthouse. The position of this city 
was worthy of its great founder, Alexander, who saw 
that it was the most central point to command the 
three continents. 

4. Effect of the Nile on the A@gyptians.— 
The great river which watered the country is the key 
to its history as well as its geography. Its fertilizing 
power was the cause of the early civilisation, as the 
abundance of food caused the population to multiply 
(see p. 15). But at the same time it had a depressing 
effect on the character of the inhabitants, as is always 
the case when a people is wholly dependent on one 
great natural feature. Besides this, the fact that the 
country was self-sufficing prevented there being any 
stimulus to commerce, so that no new ideas were 
imported from abroad ; for the Greeks did not settle 











1v.] ARABIA, EGYPT, AFRICA. 47 


there till a comparatively late period, and their numbers 
were too small to influence the mass of the popula- 
tion; with these circumstances, and in so uniform a 
country, it was impossible for independence of thought 
and action to arise, and the government was almost 
necessarily a despotism. To the same cause we may 
refer the permanence of traditional institutions, such 
as castes, and, what was more natural still, the worship 
of the Nile as a divinity. 

5. Africa; Oases ; Cyrene.—Of the great con- 
tinent of Africa, exclusive of AXgypt (or Libya, as the 
Greeks called it), only the northern part requires our 
attention, as the remainder was practically unknown 
to the ancients. The habitable portion of this may 
be described as rising in a succession of terraces from 
the Mediterranean to the great central desert, the 
Sahara, and the region bordering on the shore was 
often extremely fertile. The desert itself was barren, 
except where at long intervals oases were formed by the 
surface-water collecting in depressions of the ground. 
The northern coast of Africa has already been partly 
described in connection with the formation of the 
Mediterranean (p. 10). From A®gypt it extends west- 
ward as far as the Cyrenaica, then forms a broad but 
shallow gulf, at the two angles of which are the Syrtes; 
and after approaching nearest to Europe at the Mercurii 
Promontorium (Cape Bon), follows a nearly direct 
course to the Straits. In the eastern portion Cyrene 
occupies by far the most important position, and its 
colonists, from the Island of Thera, in the A®gean, 
were well rewarded for their adventurous journey. It 
was the nearest point to Greece; it was placed ona 
terrace of land, about ten miles from the shore, and 
was both sheltered from the parching blasts of the 
Sahara and open to the cool breezes of the sea; 
and it was provided with a perennial spring of water 
in the midst of the richest vegetation. From it 
proceeded several neighbouring colonies, of which 
12* 5 











48 


Barca, situated a little to the west, was the most 
important. 

6. Carthage.—But the place which was best fitted 
by nature for an extensive dominion was Carthage. 
This city, as it lay in the recesses of a bay to the 
west of the Mercurii Promontorium, was at once 
sheltered in its position, and commanded both the 
eastern and western basin of the Mediterranean : and 
as it faced Italy—“ Staliam contra,” as Virgil says— 
with Sicily close at hand to act as a stepping-stone, 
it held a vantage-ground both for conquest and for 
commerce. Thus it was that the Phoenician colonies 
in Sicily, of which Panormus (Palermo) was the chief, 
passed into their hands; and had they not been 
defeated by Gelo at the battle of Himéra, which was 
said to have been fought on the same day as Salamis, 
Carthage, and not Rome, might have been the great 
western power. ‘Thus too it was that they colonized 
Sardinia, Corsica, the Balearic Islands, and the coast 
of Spain, where they reproduced themselves in 
Carthago Nova. The city occupied a peninsula, 
joined to the land by an isthmus two-and-a-half miles 
wide, on the south side of which was the harbour, 
now the port of Tunis, which received their immense 
navies. ‘he original citadel was called by the Semitic 
name of Bozra (“ fortress”), which the Greeks rendered 
by Byrsa; and as this word signifies “a hide,” the 
legend grew up, that in purchasing the land the 
settlers had obtained as much as they could enclose 
by a bull’s hide cut in strips—“ Zaurino guantum 
possent circumdare tergo.” The district in the neigh- 
bourhood of Carthage, reaching from the lesser Syrtis 
to the northern coast, formed at a later period the 
Roman province of Africa, and, like A2gypt, from its 
great productiveness was one of the granaries of 
Rome ; and so greatly did that capital depend on 
those countries for its corn, that we hear in the 
Imperial times of its being in danger of starvation 


CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP, 














v.] ASIA MINOR, THRACE, MACEDONIA. 49 


when the supplies from one or other of those countries 
were Cut off. Its other principal city, situated to the 
west of Carthage, was Utica, famous for its defence 
by Cato. 

7- Numidia ; Mauretania.—The coastland west 
of the province of Africa was divided between two 
countries, Numidia and Mauretania, which were 
separated from one another by the River Ampsaga. 
The former of these, which forms a considerable part 
of the modern Algeria, is familiar to us in Roman 
history in connection with its princes Masinissa, 
Jugurtha, and Juba. The name of its inhabitants, 
Numide, which is only another form of the Greek 
Noyddec, signifies that they, like the Geetili, who lay 
to the south of them, and the Garamantes, still further 
inland, were wandering tribes—the <“‘ armentarius 
Ajer” of Virgil. From these the Carthaginians 
obtained their light horse, who rode without saddle 
or bridle (“zxfrenati’”’), in like manner as they ob- 
tained their slingers from the Balearic Islands. The 
much more extensive territory of Mauretania, the 
country of the Mauri or Moors, reaching for some 
distance along the shore of the Atlantic, was bounded 
on the south by the Atlas Mountains, which are often 
spoken of in the poets as a single peak, but in reality 
formed an extensive chain, rising in places nearly 
13,000 feet above the sea. When it was reduced 
to a Roman province, its eastern half was called 
Ceesariensis, its western half Tingitana. 


CHAP TIGR: NG; 
ASIA MINOR, THRACE, MACEDONIA. 


1. Hellespont; Propontis ; Bosporus.—The 
countries which next call for our attention are those 
that lie in the neighbourhood of Greece, bordering 
on the 4égean. But before we speak of these it may 











50 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


be well to consider the great sea that lies to the north 
of Asia Minor, and the other pieces of water that 
are connected with it. If we leave the Aigean by 
the passage near its north-east corner, between the 
Thracian Chersonese and the Plains of Troy, we enter 
the Hellespont (Dardanelles), a winding strait, forty 
miles in length and from one to three miles broad—a 
slight and singular boundary of two great continents. 
It resembles a river, and was probably regarded as 
such by the ancients, for Homer calls it “ broad” 
(wAardc “EdAjorovroc), and this epithet could only 
be applied to it from that point of view. It was about 
the middles of its course that the bridges by which 
Xerxes spanned it were thrown across, from Abydos 
on the Asiatic, to a point between Sestos and Madytus 
on the European shore. Higher up than this, on the 
Thracian side, was A®gospotami, off which the 
Athenians suffered the great naval defeat which ter- 
minated the Peloponnesian war. Just above Lam- 
psicus, the last town on the Asiatic side, we enter 
the Propontis (Sea of Marmora), a land-locked expanse 
of water, the southern side of which is diversified by 
numerous islands, bays, and promontories. Again, 
at the north-eastern extremity of this, a similar, though 
narrower, strait, the Bosporus, seventeen miles long 
and on an average half a mile wide, affords a passage 
into the Euxine. Both here and in the Hellespont 
there is a strong outward current from that sea, owing 
to the large number of great rivers which drain into It. 
At the exit of the Bosporus into the Propontis, two 
cities, both colonies of Megara, stood opposite one 
another—Chalcédon in Asia, and Byzantium in 
Europe. Chalcedon was the first to be founded, 
but the position of Byzantium was so superior, that 
the Delphic oracle was said, in directing its colonists 
in the choice of a site, to have told them to build 
their city opposite the “ land of the blind,” in reference 
to the want of judgment shown by the people of 








4 


v.] ASIA MINOR, THRACE, MACEDONIA. 51 


Chalcedon. It is perhaps the finest position in the 
world, commanding as it does two continents and two 
seas, washed on three sides by the water, from which 
it rises in swelling hills, and provided with a safe and 
deep port, seven miles in length, in the Golden Horn. 
‘his Constantine the Great saw when he chose it for 
the site of his great metropolis, Constantinople. At 
the entrance of the Bosporus from the Euxine were 
two small islands near the opposite coasts, called the 
Cyaneze from their dark colour; these were also 
named Symplegddes, because, according to the fable, 
they were supposed to clash together and crush the 
ships that passed between them. 

2. Euxine Sea and Palus Mezotis.—The 
Pontus Euxinus was originally called”Aevoc, or “ The 
Inhospitable,” because of its stormy character, and 
this title was afterwards changed by one of those 
euphemisms of which the Greeks were so fond. Its 
southern boundary was formed by Asia Minor; to 
the extreme east lay Colchis, to the north of which 
the line of the Caucasus for some distance skirted 
the shore; to the west was Thrace and the regions 
of the Hister (Danube); to the north the steppes 
of Southern Russia with the vast. rivers that intersect 
them—next to the Danube the Tyras (Dneister), 
then the Hyp&nis (Bog), and lastly the Borysthénes 
(Dnieper). The furthest piece of water in the 
system of the Euxine was the Palus Mzotis (Sea 
of Azov), a large expanse of almost fresh water, 
into which drains the stream of the Tanais (Don). 
Between this and the Euxine lay the Tauric Cher- 
sonese (Crimea), joined to the mainland by a 
narrow isthmus; and just where the two seas are 
connected with one another by the Cimmerian Bos- 
porus, on the European shore stood the town of 
Panticapzeum (Kertch), which was the capital of the 
Greek kingdom of Bosporus, which continued to exist 
in these parts for several centuries. This place, like 














52 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP, 


most of the Greek colonies that studded the shores 
of the Euxine, was founded from Miletus; and it 
commanded an extensive trade with the interior, and 
did much towards supplying Greece with corn, and 
with the Scythian slaves, who are frequently mentioned 
by Aristophanes. Still more important was the great 
depot of Olbia, near the mouth of the Hypanis. 

3. Asia Minor: General Features.—The 
oblong space of ground called Asia Minor, projecting 
as it does from the continent of Asia, and bounded 
on three sides by the sea, while the fourth abuts 
against the mountains of Armenia, formed a natural 
link between Asia and Europe. By it the principal 
tribes who inhabited the peninsulas of Greece and 
Italy, migrated from their original homes in Iran (p. 
17), and we shall see, in examining its physical 
geography, that it partakes of the features of both 
continents, for while the interior is thoroughly Asiatic 
in its table-lands, the west coast, where it borders on 
the A‘gean, has all the peculiarities which characterise 
Greece. At its eastern extremity it forms a plateau of 
nearly 4,000 feet in height, and though this gradually 
slopes towarcs the west, yet it is still 2,000 feet high, 
when it begins to sink towardsthe Al‘gean. But its 
shores in that direction, like those of Greece, are 
broken up into innumerable bays and_ harbours, 
separated from one another by small promontories, 
and fringed with islands; whence they became a 
favourite place of settlement for Greek colonists. On 
the northern and southern sides also the central table- 
land approaches remarkably near to the sea, from 
which the ground rises to it with great rapidity. The 
two mountain chains which bound it are, on the north, 
the successive ranges which, under the name of 
Olympus, pass through Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia, and 
Mysia; on the south, the Taurus range in Cilicia 
and Pisidia. The principal rivers find their way into 
the Euxine. Of these, the Sangarius, to the west, 











‘ 


v.] AS{A MINOR, THRACE, MACEDONIA. 53 


flows through Galatia and Bithynia; to the east 
the Iycus, rising near the coast south of Trapezus, 
waters the kingdom of Pontus, and joins the 
Tris before reaching the sea; while between these 
is by far the most important stream, the Halys, 
which almost encloses the Lycus and Ins in the 
great arc which it describes. In the time of Croesus 
this river formed the boundary between the Lydian 
and Persian dominions, whence arose the significance 
of the saying of the Delphic oracle, that ‘if Croesus 
crossed the Halys he would destroy a great kingdom.” 
The fertile valleys which descend to the A‘gean were 
enriched by four streams, the Caicus, Hermus, Cayster, 
and Meander, which formed an additional attraction 
to the Greek colonists. 

4. Divisions of Asia Minor.—If the student 
requires'a memoria technica, by which to remember the 
various provinces into which this country is somewhat 
elaborately divided, he may find it in the curiously 
tripartite arrangement into which they fall. It is 
composed of twelve provinces: three to the north, 
Bithynia, Paphlagonia, and Pontus ; three to the south, 
Lycia, Pamphylia, and Cilicia; three in the centre, 
Phrygia, Galatia, and Cappadocia; three to the west, 
Mysia, Lydia, and Caria; while the sea-coast of these 
three last countries is occupied by three groups of 
Greek colonies, AZolian, Ionian, and Dorian ; and 
three large islands lie off it, Lesbos, Chios, and Samos. 
This arrangement, however, is merely artificial; and 
it should especially be borne in mind, that at the 
flourishing period of Greek history, two of these 
provinces, Pontus and Galatia, did not exist at all; 
for the kingdom of Pontus was not established till 
363 B.c., from which time it lasted exactly 300 years, 
under successive sovereigns, usually called Mithridates, 
until it was destroyed by Pompey in B.c. 63 ; and the 
name of Galatia was given, at a still later period, 
when a Gaulish tribe (Tadara), of the same race 








54 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


as those who sacked Rome and attacked Delphi, 
having migrated from the west, and having been called 
in by Nicomedes I., king of Bithynia, settled in the 
country between the Sangarius and the Halys, about 
250 B.c. The chief city of Pontus was Amasia, the 
birthplace of the geographer Strabo, situated on the 
banks of the Iris, where the tombs of the kings of 
that country remain to the present day; but from a 
commercial point of view the Greek colony of 
Trapezus, on the sea-coast, was far more important, 
as a large part of the trade of Upper Asia’ passed 
through it to the west. In Galatia the most famous 
place was Ancyra (Angora), where is a temple of 
Augustus, with the celebrated inscription recording 
the actions of that emperor. 

5. Northern and Central Provinces.—The 
outline of the northern coast rises from the two sides 
to a sort of hump in the middle; this hump is 
Paphlagonia, which is separated from Pontus by 
the Halys, and from Bithynia by the Parthenius.. On 
a headland, near its northernmost promontory, lay 
Sinope, the most important of all the colonies on the 
Euxine ; and further to the west was Amastris, famous 
for its boxwood forests, which grew on Mount Cytorus. 
From the frontier of Paphlagonia the territory of 
Bithynia reaches as far west as the Rhyndacus, which 
flows into the Propontis. It was in the neighbour- 
hood of that sea that the principal Bithynian cities 
were situated, viz., Nicomedia, at the head of the deep 
gulf of Astacus, founded by Nicomedes I., king of 
Bithynia ; Niceea, on the Lake Ascanius, famous as 
the seat of the first Council of the Christian Church ; 
and Prusa (Brusa). situated at the foot of the Bithynian 
Olympus, the snowy summits of which are visible from 
Constantinople. On the coast of the Euxine lay the 
considerable town of Heraclea Pontica. Of the 
central tabie-land of Asia Minor, the eastern part was 
Cappadocia, the western, Phrygia; but both these 














v.]) ASIA MINOR, THRACE, MACEDONIA. 55 


countries at one time represented a wider area, for, 
before the kingdom of Pontus was formed, Cappadocia 
extended to the Euxine, and the territory occupied 
by the Galatze originally belonged to Phrygia. Both 
in ancient and modern times, Phrygia has been cele- 
brated for its wool ; but to the Greeks it was best known 
as the original home of the mysterious rites of Cybele, 
which exercised a great influence upon them. 

6. Southern Provinces.—The southern pro- 
vinces were of necessity narrow strips of land, 
being hemmed in between the Taurus and the 
Mediterranean. The easternmost of these was 
Cilicia, a country of great importance, as commanding 
the passage from Asia Minor into Syria. The pass 
which led into it from the interior through the Taurus 
was called the Ciliciz Pyle, a narrow defile amid 
rugged mountains, which descended into the plain 
some way above Tarsus. ‘The other pass, which led 
round the head of the Gulf of Issus into Syria under 
the Mons Amanus, was called the Syriz or Amanides 
Pyle (see p. 32). It was by this way that the 
younger Cyrus led his army into Upper Asia. Cilicia, 
from its sheltered position and southern aspect, was 
almost tropical in its vegetation. Its chief city was 
Tarsus, St. Paul’s birthplace, on the banks of the 
Cydnus. Opposite to the coast of Cilicia lay the 
island of Cyprus, which forms in shape a rude oval, 
but at its north-east extremity throws off a long 
finger, which seems to point towards the Gulf of 
Issus. On its eastern coast lay the town of Salamis, 
on the western that of Paphos, famous for the worship 
of Aphrodite; to the south those of Amathus and 
Citium. To the west of Cilicia, in the recesses of a 
considerable bay, was Pamphylia, the inland and 
mountainous district of which was called Pisidia ; 
further inland still, beyond the Taurus, was the upland 
region of Lycaonia. ‘The chief cities of these countries 
may be traced by following the footsteps of St. Paul 

















56 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY, [CHAP. 


on his first missionary journey, who, landing at 
Attaleia, went up to Perga in Pamphylia, and Antioch 
in Pisidia, whence he proceeded to Iconium, Lystra, 
Derbe, cities of Lycaonia. The small district of Lycia, 
which projects into the sea beyond Pamphylia, though 
but little known to fame, must have been exceedingly 
opulent, for it was crowded with cities, of which 
Telmissus, Xanthus, Patara, and Myra are the most 
familiar. Amongst its numerous mountains, Mount 
Cragus was the most celebrated, on account of its 
extensive forests. 

7. Western Provinces.—The north-western 
angle of Asia Minor was occupied by Mysia, which 
bordered both on the Propontis and the A‘gean, and 
was bounded on the east by the Rhyndacus, and on 
the south by the mountains that separate the valley of 
the Caicus from that of the Hermus. Its western 
coast was indented by the deep bay of Adramyttium, 
on the northern side of which rises the picturesque 
wooded chain of Ida. In a large cavern in the 
recesses of this mountain rose the Scamander 
(Mendére), and the district through which this river 
flows to the Hellespont was known as the Troad ; but 
the plain of Troy itself was the lower part towards 
the sea, where the river, issuing from a narrow valley, 
intersects a plain seven miles in length, flanked on 
both sides by low hills. Where these abut on the 
Hellespont, two capes are formed, the eastern of 
which was called the Rhceteian, the western the 
Sigeean, from the town of Sigeeum, which was built 
upon it. Off the western coast lay the Island of 
Tenédos. The position of the city of Troy is not 
certainly known. The most important Mysian town 
on the Propontis was Cyzicus, which occupied the 
neck of an extensive peninsula. At no great distance 
from this flowed the Granicus, on the banks of which 
Alexander the Great obtained his first great victory 
over the Persians. To the south, in the neighbour 














V.] ASIA MINOR, THRACE, MACEDONIA. 57 


hood of the Caicus, was Pergimus, where for some 
time a kingdom existed after the period of Alexander 
the Great. Southward from this as far as Mount 
Messogis, and including the rich valleys of the Hermus 
and Cayster, extended the country of Lydia, which for 
several centuries was the seat of a great empire, 
embracing a considerable part of Asia Minor. Its chief 
mountains were Tmolus in the interior, and Sipylus 
towards the sea-coast; on a precipice in Sipylus 
the ancient figure of Niobe still remains, which is 
mentioned by Homer. The capital, Sardis, was 
situated at the northern foot of Mount ‘Tmolus, on the 
Pactolus, a tributary of the Hermus. The gold-bearing 
sands of that stream were probably fabulous, but gold 
was found in that country, and the most ancient gold 
coins come fromthence. ‘The interval between Lydia 
and Lycia was occupied by Caria, the most famous 
part of which was the valley of the Meander, and the 
fertility of this was caused by the many windings of 
that river. Its principal tributary was the Marsyas, 
flowing from the south, between which and the sea 
was Mount Latmos, which is associated with the story 
of Endymion. Of the Seven Churches of Asia which 
are mentioned in the Book of Revelations, Laodicea 
lay on the upper waters of the Meander; Ephesus 
near, and Smyrna upon, the sea-coast of Ionia ; Sardis, 
Philadelphia, and Thyatira in Lydia; and Pergamus 
in Mysia. When Asia Minor became a part of the 
Roman Empire, the name of Asia (or Proconsular 
Asia) was restricted to the western provinces, just as 
we have seen the name Africa to be used in a similar 
restricted sense (p. 18). The head city of. this 
district was Ephesus. The inhabitants of Asia Minor 
were mostly of the Indo-European race, and some 
were closely related to the Greeks and Romans, but 
it is probable that the Cilicians and some minor tribes 
were, at least in part, of Semitic origin (see p. 17). 

8. Asiatic Greek Colonies: A£olis—The 















58 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


western sea-board of Asia Minor has been already 
described (p. 52) as broken up into innumerable 
bays and harbours, separated from one another by 
peninsulas and promontories: of varied shape, and 
further diversified by neighbouring islands. The 
climate of this district was one of the finest in the 
world. Here a multitude of Greek colonies were 
planted, and soon rose to opulence by the cultiva- 
tion of the fertile lands in their neighbourhood, and 
still more by trade with the peoples of the interior, 
whose products they exported to foreign parts. Con- 
sequently, art and literature had an earlier and more 
rapid development in these countries than else- 
where in Greece. Here the Homeric poems were 
composed; here Sappho and Alcus sang, and 
Herodotus was born; here Thales and Anaxagoras 
studied philosophy, when these subjects were in their 
infancy in the mother country; here also the graceful 
Ionic style of architecture was invented. The name 
of ANdlis was given to the coast of Mysia between the 
Gulf of Adramyttium and the town of Cumé beyond 
the Caicus; but the Zolian settlements really 
extended over a wider area, for Assos and Sigéum, 
further to the north, belonged to this race, as also did 
Lesbos, with its two chief cities of Methymna in the 
north, and Mityléne in the east. ‘This island, like 
most of the larger islands, possessed a strip of land on 
the mainland opposite, which was called the Perea. 
The Arginusz Islands, off which the great battle 
was fought between the Athenians and Spartans, lay 
between the easternmost point of Lesbos and the 
coast. 

9. Ionia and Doris.—The seaboard of Lydia 
and part of Caria was held by the Ionian colonies, of 
which (to name only the principal) the northernmost 
was Phocea, hard by the Aolian Cume; then 
followed Smyrna, at the head of its deep bay; after 
which the coast projects towards Chios, and forms 








v.] ASIA MINOR, THRACE, MACEDONIA. 59 


the strange wide peninsula of Erythre, in the northern 
portion of which rose the lofty Mount Mimas, the 
dread of sailors from its dangerous storms. ‘Then it 
recedes by Teos and Lebédos to Ephesus on the 
Caicus, far-famed for its temple of Artemis, the largest 
in the ancient world; and advances again opposite 
Samos in the promontory of Mycale, the scene of the 
engagement between the Greeks and Persians. 
Beyond this, on the south side of the bay into 
which the Meander flows, was the great city of 
Milétus, with the Island of Lade in front of it; but 
so great has been the deposit of the river, that the 
bay is now filled up, and Lade is a hill in the middle 
of a level plain. These Ionian cities were at first 
twelve, and formed a Dodecapolis; but the number 
was afterwards increased to thirteen, when Smyrna, 
originally an Zolian colony, was captured by the 
Ionians. The place of meeting of this confederation 
was on the northern slope of Mount Mycale, and was 
called Panionium. At the south-west angle of Asia 
Minor, which is occupied by a number of narrow and 
strangely indented peninsulas, were stationed the 
Dorian colonies, six in number—Halicarnassus, Cos, 
Cnidos, and the three towns of the neighbouring 
island of Rhodes, Ialysus, Lindus, and Camirus. 
These formed a Hexapolis, which held its meetings at 
a temple of the Triopian Apollo, but after a time this 
became a Pentapolis, by the exclusion of Halicar- 
nassus. Cnidos was situated at the extremity of the 
Jong Triopian promontory; but the most famous of 
these cities was Halicarnassus, which is well known 
for its mausoleum, the monument which Queen 
Artemisia erected in memory of her husband 
Mausoius. 

10. Thrace.—The territory which was occupied by 
the countries of Thrace and Macedonia was bounded 
on the north by the chain of Heemus, on the west by 
the Scardus, which formed the northern continuation of 
6 








60 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


Pindus, on the east by the Euxine, and on the south 
by the Propontis and AXgean Sea. The greater part 
of it was hilly and irregular, and it was intersected by 
several definite ranges of mountains, the chief of 
which was Rhodépe. This chain separates from the 
Heemus at right angles about the middle of the whole 
area, and runs southward at first, until it approaches 
the sea, when it takes an easterly direction ; this bend 
is referred to by Virgil in the line, 


‘* Quaque vedi¢ medium Rhodope porrecta sub axem.” 


‘To the westward of this, and separated from it by the 
river Nestus, is Mount Pangezeus, which also reaches the 
sea. Again, another chain branches off from Scardus 
towards the east, and when it approaches Pangzeus, 
where its summits are highest, is called Orbélus. The 
country is watered by four rivers, larger than any that 
are found in Greece, the westernmost of which, the 
Axius, flows into the Thermaic Gulf, while the three 
others, the Strymon, the Nestus, and the Hebrus, 
enter the AXgean between Chalcidice and the Thracian 
Chersonese. The largest of these is the Hebrus, 
which, with its tributaries, drains almost the whole of 
Thrace. ‘The proper boundary between Thrace and 
Macedonia was the Strymon, but at a later period 
Macedonia encroached on its neighbour, so as to 
extend eastward of Philippi. The climate of Thrace was 
regarded by the Greeks as very severe, and that country 
was spoken of as the home of the north wind, Boreas. 
The forests near the coast furnished great quantities of 
timber, which were of importance to the Athenians 
for their ship-building. ‘Thrace was also famous for 
its breed of horses, and for gold, which was found 
near Amphipolis, and elsewhere in the country. The 
principal colonies on the coast, besides Byzantium, 
which has been already described (p. 51), were 
Perinthus on the Propontis, and Mesambria, Abdéra, 
and Amphipolis on the AXgean. The last-named of 











v.] ASIA MINOR, THRACE, MACEDONIA, 61 


these places was originally called Ennea-Hodoi or the 
Nine Ways, and was surrounded on three sides by the 
Strymon, just where that river makes its exit from the 
Lake Cercinitis. Its port, at the mouth of that river, 
three miles distant, was called Eion. Further to the 
east, and nine miles from the sea, was Philippi, in the 
plain near which the battle was fought which decided 
the fate of the republican party at Rome; the port of 
Philippi was Neapolis, and at this place St. Paul 
landed when he went up to that city. Finally we 
must notice the curious narrow strip of ground 
between the Hellespont and the A‘%gean, called the 
Thracian Chersonese. This was occupied by Greek 
settlers, and to prevent the incursions of the Thracians 
a wall was built across its isthmus, which was less 
than five miles in breadth. 

11. Macedonia.—The River Axius divides Mace- 
donia into two parts, the eastern of which resembles 
the neighbouring country of Thrace in the irregularity 
of its surface; but in the western part, under the 
flanks of Mount Scardus, are a succession of rich 
upland plains. The most important of these was 
Pelagonia, one of the original seats of the Mace- 
donian race; the southern part of this was called 
Lyncestis. From the head of the Thermaic Gulf to 
the foot of Mount Olympus a vast maritime plain 
extended, intersected by the streams of the Axius, 
the Lydias, and the Haliacmon ; on the west this was 
bounded by the Bermian chain, and the portion in 
the neighbourhood of Olympus, as well as the sea- 
slopes of that mountain, formed Pieria, the original 
home of the Muses. ‘The chief cities of Pieria were 
Pydna, where Perseus of Macedon was defeated by 
the Romans, and Dium. At the north-west angle of 
the plain, just where the passes from Lyncestis enter 
Lower Macedonia, stood the early capital, Edessa, in 
a beautiful position on a table of rock, adorned with 
numerous cascades. The importance of the site 











62 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


arose from its commanding both the upper and the 
level country. These advantages were not enjoyed 
by the later capital, Pella, which occupied some low 
hills near an extensive marsh in the plain; its near- 
ness to the sea appears to have been its only recom- 
mendation. ‘The Roman metropolis, Thessalonica, 
originally Therma, lay in the innermost angle of the 
Thermaic Gulf, thus forming a natural point of transit 
for exports and imports. ‘This city was the terminus 
of the Via Egnatia, the great Roman road which 
joined the Adriatic and the Atgean, starting from 
Dyrrhachium, on the former sea, and forming the main 
line of communication between the West and the East. 
This road was afterwards extended to Byzantium. 

12. Chalcidice.—The greater part of the coast 
of Macedonia was occupied by the trident-shaped 
peninsula, called Chalcidice from its having been 
colonized by settlers from Chalcis in Euboea. The 
easternmost of the three promontories that form the 
trident was that of Acte, at the extremity of which 
the peak of Mount Athos rose to the height of 6,400 
feet ; through its isthmus, which is about a mile and 
a half broad, the canal was. dug which Xerxes 
intended for the passage of his fleet, in order to avoid 
the dangers of shipwreck on the rocks of Athos, 
which had destroyed the expedition of Mardonius. On 
the land side of the isthmus stood the city of Acanthus. 
Separated from Acte by the Singitic Gulf, was the pro- 
montory of Sithonia, with the town of Tordne; and 
still further to the west, beyond the Toronaic Gulf, was 
that of Paleéne, with Mende and Scione on its southern 
side, and at its isthmus the important Corinthian colony 
of Potidza. Near this place, at the head of the gulf, 
was Olynthus. These Greek cities were a continual 
thorn in the side of the Macedonian monarchs, and 
caused them to take part against Athens during the 
Peloponnesian War. Beyond the mountains in the 
north of Chalcidice was the Lake of Bolbe. 








NORTHERN GREECE. 


CHAPTER VI. 
NORTHERN GREECE, 


1. General Characteristics of Greece, and 
Effect on the Greeks.— The country commonly 
called Greece, but by the Greeks themselves Hellas, 
properly begins with Thessaly. It was in many 
respects the most remarkably formed country of the 
ancient world, and this formation had a great influence 
on the character and history of its inhabitants. ‘The 
remarks that have already been made on the charac- 
teristics of Europe (p. 14), as compared with the 
other two continents, can be applied with still greater 
force to Greece. No other country has so long a 
sea-board in proportion to its area, or SO diversified 
an outline, or such innumerable bays and harbours. 
Again, though Greece is a very mountainous country, 
yet it is not, like Thrace, an irregular jumble of 
mountains ; but the whole surface, whether highland 
or lowland, is delicately marked and carefully defined 
in small distinct districts. The effect of these pecu- 
liarities at once appears in the history. As the sea 
was everywhere in their neighbourhood, the Greeks 
were essentially a maritime people ; and the separation 
of the country into areas of limited extent caused 
them to form a number of separate states without 
being combined into a united nation. And the 
character of the people was affected by the same 
influences. For the mountaineer is usually charac- 
terised by his patriotism and love of freedom, and the 
seafaring man, from his changeful and adventurous 
life, gains boldness and an aptitude for new ideas ; 
and thus in the Greek, with whom both influences 
were present, these two elements of character were 
combined. At the same time the great variety of 
surface that the country presented, being diversified 


13* 





































64 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CuAP, 


by mountains, hills, valleys, and plains, and the 
consequent variety of occupation of the inhabitants, 
fostered that versatility for which the Greeks were 
famous ; and the temperate climate and absence of 
objects of overwhelming magnitude were in accord- 
ance with that freedom from extravagance which was 
the secret of their taste. In the formation of a 
national character two elements must be present—one 
internal, the nature of the race, the other external, 
the conditions under which it is developed. Now, 
the reason why the Greeks were so remarkable a 
people, especially in respect of their intellect, was that 
they possessed these two elements, the race and the 
country, in great perfection, and that the one closely 
corresponded to the other. It should also be noticed 
how, in proportion as we advance southward, the 
peculiar features both of the country and the people, 
which we have noticed, become gradually more and 
more marked ; for Thessaly and Epirus, which pos- 
sessed the plainest seaboard and most unformed 
surface, had at the same time the least Hellenic popu- 
lation ; in the central districts, intervening between 
these and the Isthmus of Corinth, there is a marked 
advance in both respects; but the culminating point 
is reached in the Peloponnese, where the most 
elaborate country and the most typical races are 
found. 

2. Mountains of Northern and Central 
Greece.—Northern Greece is divided into two parts 
by a well-defined backbone, which, under the names 
of Scardus and Pindus, traverses the country from 
north to south. Scardus takes its rise far away to the 
north, beyond the plain of Pelagonia, and divides the 
upland levels of Western Macedonia from the rugged 
territory of Illyricum, extending as far south as Lyncestis. 
Here Pindus begins, and where it reaches the north- 
west angle of ‘Thessaly, it rises conspicuously in Mount 
Lacmon, which forms the most important watershed 








vi.] NORTHERN GREECE. 65 


and starting-point of mountains in Northern Greece. 
From it the Adus, the Arachthus, and the Achelous 
flow to the western, the Haliacmon and Peneius to 
the eastern sea ; and at the same point the Ceraunian 
mountains diverge to the north-west, reaching to the 
Acro-Ceraunian promontory, opposite the heel of 
Italy, while to the east runs the Cambunian range, 
terminating in Mount Olympus, where it touches the 
Thermaic Gulf. \ Olympus is by far the highest moun- 
tain in the Greek peninsula, and reaches nearly 10,000 
feet. South-eastward from it the coast is bounded by 
the lower, but still lofty, heights of Ossa and Pelion ; 
and this chain is continued through the rocky island 
of Eubcea, and beyond that by the northern Cyclades, 
Andros, Tenos, and Myconos. Southward of Mount 
Lacmon, Pindus divides Thessaly from Epirus, until at 
its southern extremity it throws up the lofty peak of 
Typhrestus (or Tymphrestus). At this point, near the 
head-waters of the Spercheius, a number of chains 
diverge—to the east, Othrys, which forms the southern 
boundary of Thessaly, and overhangs the valley of the 
Spercheius and the Maliac Gulf; to the south-east the 
no less lofty Oeta, which runs parallel to it, enclosing 
the same district on the south ; and to the south-west 
the irregular ranges of A®tolia. But the most lineal 
descendant of Pindus is the succession of mountains 
which, under the famous names of Parnassus and 
Helicon, run through Phocis and Beeotia, and after- 
wards as Cithzron and Parnes divide the last-named 
country from Attica, while an offshoot from Cithzeron, 
branching off towards the south, and skirting the 
Corinthian Gulf, forms the great mass of Geraneia, 
which blocks the approach to the isthmus. Again, 
from the end of Oeta a lower mountain range skirts 
the Euboic sea, passing through the Locrian territory 
and the east of Bceotia, until it meets the extremity 
of Parnes, and there throws up the lofty pyramid of 
Pentelicus ; after which it gradually descends towards 











66 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


the promontory of Sunium, and is further continued 
in the islands of Ceos, Cythnos, Seriphos, and Siphnos. 
Thus it will be seen that Greece is defended by a series 
of ramparts, for Olympus, Othrys, Oeta, Cithzeron, 
and Geraneia have successively to be passed before 
an invader can reach the Peloponnese. ‘The moun- 
tains of Greece are sharply cut and beautifully formed ; 
and the number of commanding summits is great, for 
though Olympus is the only one that rises above 8,000 
feet, yet there are upwards of twenty-five in various 
parts of the country that are over 4,000, and many of 
these till late in the spring are deeply covered with snow. 

3. Coast-line of Northern and Central 
Greece.—In tracing the shores of the Greek penin- 
sula from Mount Olympus and the Acro-Ceraunian 
promontory to the Isthmus of Corinth, we have first 
to notice how the country is compressed into two 
waists, so to speak, in consequence of inlets pene- 
trating from the two sides opposite one another into the 
interior. The first is formed by the Maliac and Am- 
bracian gulfs about the parallel of Mount Typhrestus ; 
the second by the Saronic and Corinthian gulfs, on 
either side of the Isthmus. The coast-line on both 
sides to the north of the first of these waists is com- 
paratively unbroken, except where the Pagaszeus 
Sinus forms a land-locked bay at the south-east angle 
of Thessaly. Further to the south the shore of the 
Ionian Sea, from the Ambracian Gulf as far as the 
straits at Rhium, though less uniform, possesses but 
few harbours; but on the eastern side the coast of 
Locris, Bceotia, and Attica is infinitely diversified, 
and its waters are protected by the natural breakwater 
of the Island of Eubcea. ‘The same variety of outline 
is found in the Saronic Gulf, and on the northern 
shore of that of Corinth, the principal inlet of which 
is the Bay of Crissa, which leads up to Delphi. Thus 
in Central, and (as we shall see hereafter) in Southern 
Greece the mountains project into the sea, and the 

















VI. J NORTHERN GREECE. 67 


sea advances far into the interior, so that the sea- 
board and the inland parts are combined into one, 
instead of forming two separate districts, as they do 
in most countries. It will also be seen that, while 
the western side of Greece, including the Peloponnese, 
is singularly destitute of good harbours, these are very 
numerous on the eastern side ; and on this side it was 
that the principal maritime plains-——those of Phthiotis, 
of Malis, of Athens, and of Argos—opened out on the 
sea. The result of this was that Greek colonization 
at an early period took an eastern and not a western 
direction; and this tendency was increased by the 
position of the islands, which formed chains across 
the Afgean, and naturally attracted the colonists 
towards the coast of Asia Minor. 

4. Positions of Greek Cities—-One result of 
the hilly character of Greece was that its cities usually 
occupied elevated positions. The site which the 
Greeks chose by preference was the last spur of a 
mountain chain, which overlooked a plain or valley ; 
here they were safe from attack, and had land close at 
hand to cultivate. The summits of such hills they 
surrounded with a wall of massive stones, carefully 
fitted together without mortar; and for this purpose 
the rocky surface supplied an abundant material. In 
many places, as notably at Athens, this citadel was 
the omginal city; afterwards, when the buildings 
extended down the slopes below, these formed the 
city, as distinguished from the stronghold, and were 
again surrounded by a wall of circuit. It was only in 
very rare instances that a city grew up, as Sparta did, 
without such an enclosure. The facility of defence 
which was thus provided introduced a settled order 
of things at an early period into the country ; and the 
city life which it encouraged, with its busy discussions 
and conflicting interests, gave rise to a universal inte- 
rest in politics, and fostered a democratic spirit. On 
the other hand, the existence of a citadel or Acropolis 








68 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


above the town was a source of danger, because the 
person who was master of it could dictate to those 
below. Hence we find that the first act of a tyrant 
was always to seize the Acropolis. 

5. Thessaly.—Thessaly, in the opinion of Hero- 
dotus, was originally an inland sea, before an outlet 
for the waters was formed through the Vale of Tempe, 
which, according to the fable, was made by Poseidon, 
who with his trident cleft the ground between Olympus 
and Ossa. ‘This view is far from improbable, for the 
whole area is drained by the Peneius and its tribu- 
taries, which find an exit to the sea by that passage. 
The Peneius rises in Mount Lacmon in the north-west 
angle of the country, and describes a considerable are 
in the middle of its course, where it receives the waters 
of the Enipeus, the Apidanus, the Onochonus, and the 
Pamisus, flowing from the south; and shortly before 
entering Tempe it is joined on the northern side by 
the Titaresius. On the opposite side, not far from this 
point, a periodical overflow takes place, and the 
surplus waters are carried first into the Lake Nessonis, 
and thence into that of Boebe, which lies close under 
the flanks of Mount Pelion. This lake has no outlet, 
for a watershed intervenes between it and the Gulf of 
Pagase. ‘The boundaries of Thessaly are formed by 
well-marked mountain-chains—Pindus on the west, 
Othrys on the south, Ossa and Pelion on the east, 
and the Cambunian mountains on the north. At the 
north-east angle Mount Olympus stands like a huge 
watch-tower, and dominates the whole. But it must 
not be supposed that the entire surface of the country 
is one unbroken level, for it is intersected by several 
lines of hills, the most marked of which are those 
which project both from the north and south in the 
direction of Larissa. The rich soil of Thessaly was a 
source of temptation to invaders, such as the Thessa- 
lians themselves, who migrated from Epirus and drove 
out the Bceotians, who before had occupied the 














vi. | NORTHERN GREECE. 69 


country. Owing to the same cause, the constitution 
of this district differed from what was found elsewhere 
in Greece, the land being possessed by a few wealthy 
families, such as the Aleuadez of Larissa and the 
' Scopadee of Crannon, and tilled by a serf population. 
On the broad plains, also, the horses were reared 
which made Thessaly famous for its cavalry. 

6. Divisions, Cities, and Passes of Thes- 
saly.—Thessaly was composed of four divisions— 
Hestizotis, Thessaliotis, Pelasgiotis, and Phthiotis. 
Of these, Hestizeotis occupied the north-western 
corner, about the upper waters of the Peneius, having 
for its chief city Tricca ; Thessaliotis the south-west- 
ern, and was drained by the affluents of that river. 
Here lay the town of Pharsdlus, near which was the 
plain of Pharsalia, the scene of the celebrated battle 
between Cesar and Pompey. Pelasgiotis, which lay 
towards the north-east, was politically the most im- 
portant district, for it contained the leading cities, 
Larissa, on the Peneius, and further to the south, 
Crannon and Phere. Not far from the last-named 
place was Cynoscephale, famous as the scene of the 
defeat of the last Philip of Macedon by the Roman 
Consul Flamininus. ‘The fourth division, Phthiotis, 
occupying, as it did, the southern slopes of Othrys 
and the neighbourhood of the Pagaszeus Sinus, 
formed in several ways a separate country, for it was 
divided from the rest of Thessaly by mountains or 
watersheds, and opened on the sea. Thucydides 
tells us that it was the early home of the Hellenic 
race. It was famed in ancient story as the native 
land of the great Achilles, and its land-locked sea 
appears to have been the cradle of Greek navigation. 
From it the Argonauts started on their adventurous 
voyage ; in the forests of the neighbouring Pelion the 
pine was cut for their ship Argo, and on a rocky hill 
at the head of the gulf stood the city of Iolcos. 
Near this, on a projection of the coast, Demetrias 











70 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


was built at a later period by Demetrius Poliorcetes, 
and as it commanded the approach to Thessaly, it 
was called by him one of the three fetters of Greece, 
Chalcis and Corinth being the other two. Of the 
outlying Thessalian tribes we may notice the Per- 
rhzebi in the north, about the course of the Titaresius, 
in the south-west the Dolépes and Dryopes about the 
roots of Pindus, and to the east the Magnétes in the 
highlands of Ossa and Pelion. ‘The most famous of 
the passes by which Thessaly could be entered was 
Tempe, a narrow winding ravine between four and 
five miles long, full of luxuriant vegetation along 
the banks of the Peneius, and thus realizing the 
descriptions of the poets, but bounded by rocky 
precipices which rendered it easy of defence. ‘This, 
however, could be turned by another pass, that of 
Petra, on the western side of Olympus, which entered 
the plain to the north of Larissa. From Epirus there 
was a pass over Mount Lacmon by the valley of the 
Peneius, by which Julius Ceesar arrived before Pharsalia ; 
from the Ambracian Gulf another led over Pindus near 
the town of Gomphi; and from the Maliac Gulf, Othrys 
was crossed by a pass called Ccela, or “ The Hollows.” 

7. Illyricum and Epirus.—Epirus, which lay 
‘on the opposite side of Pindus to Thessaly, formed a 
strong contrast to that country in respect of its sur- 
face, being a mass of mountains.  Lllyricum, from 
which it was separated by the Ceraunian chain, was 
also mountainous, and was intersected by several 
rivers, the principal of which was the Adus. Near 
the coast there were occasional plains, and these 
formed the principal source of wealth to the neigh- 
bouring Greek colonies of Epidamnus and Apollonia. 
Epirus consisted of three districts, Chaonia, Molottis, 
and Thesprotia. Chaonia lay to the north-west, reach- 
ing as far south as the river Thyamis; in this country, 
nearly opposite the north of Corcyra, was the city 
of Buthrotum. Molottis formed the eastern part, 











v1] NORTHERN GREECE, 71 


away from the sea, and contained a large lake called 
Pambotis (Lake of Joannina). ‘Thesprotia was the 
southern region, and had on its coast the small islands 
of Sybéta. The principal river was the Arachthus, 
which rises in Lacmon and flows southwards into 
the Ambracius Sinus (Gulf of Arta), Though this 
country was little known to the Greeks, it contained 
three features of the highest importance in Greek 
mythology,—the river Acheron, the sources of the 
Achelous, and the oracle of Dodona. The Acheron 
flows through a deep gorge amid scenery fitted to 
inspire a feeling of awe, and when it emerges from 
this forms a marsh, the Palus Acherusia, before reach- 
ing the sea. The Achelous, which rises not far from 
the Arachthus, for some distance skirts the chain of 
Pindus until it enters Acarnania; it was known to the 
Greeks as the most ancient of rivers. The site of the 
oracle of Dodona is not certainly known, but it was 
probably in the neighbourhood of the Lake Pambotis. 
On the northern shore of the land-locked Ambracian 
Gulf was the district of Ambracia, with a town of the 
same name, situated on the Arachthus; and on the 
eastern side was Amphilochia, with a chief city, Argos. 
The tongue of land which guards the south side of the 
entrance of the bay was Actium, the scene of Augustus’ 
great naval victory over Antony and Cleopatra. 

8. Acarnania and /#tolia.—The coast of 
Greece to the south of Epirus belonged to Acarnania. 
The greater part of the area of this country also was 
mountainous, but it contained one important river, 
the Achelous, the fertilizing waters of which intersect 
it from north to south. In a rich plain near its banks 
in the centre of the district was Stratus, the chief 
city; and near its mouth lay Oenidde, a place of 
great strength, owing to the marshes in the midst of 
which it was situated. Off the coast, where it enters 
the sea, were the islands called the Echinades, some 
of which had already in classical times been united to 
‘1 




















72 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


the mainland by the deposit of the nver. Eastward 
of Acarnania was /Etolia, which extended as far east 
as the entrance of the Gulf of Corinth. It possessed 
a river of some importance, the Evénus, and a large 
lake called Trichonis. Conspicuous among its nu- 
merous mountains was Mount Corax, opposite Mount 
Parnassus, and little inferior to it in elevation. The 
strait by which the gulf was entered, between the head- 
land of Rhium on the Achaian, and Antirrhium on the 
fEtolian coast, was about a mile and a half in width. 


CHATTER VV 
CENTRAL GREECE. 


1. Malis.—The part of Greece which we now 
approach possesses in fuller measure the features 
that we have seen to be most characteristic—finely- 
marked mountain-chains, distinct valleys and valley- 
plains, and a long and intricate sea-board—and at 
the same time a more thoroughly Hellenic population. 
On the southern side of Thessaly the wide valley of 
the Spercheius occupies the space between the parallel 
ranges of Othrys and Oeta, extending from the foot 
of Mount Typhrestus, where are the sources of that 
river, to the Maliac Gulf, which is in reality a con- 
tinuation of the valley. The corner of this territory, 
which lies between the cliffs of Oeta and the sea, was 
called Malis, and was of great importance to Greece, 
because it contained the key of that country in the 
pass of Thermopyle. The pass commenced just 
beyond the point where the Asopus, issuing from a 
gorge on the south side, flowed into the sea; but at 
the present day the alluvium brought down by the 
Spercheius has carried the coast-iine so much further 
out that the Asopus flows into the Spercheius, and a 
level plain extends below Thermopyle. At the foot 
of the heights to the west of the Asopus stood the 














vu. ] CENTRAL GREECE. 73 


city of Trachis, and somewhat higher up is the site of 
Heracleia, which the Spartans built as a garrison town 
during the Peloponnesian War. It was by the gorge of 
the Asopus that the detachment of the Persians under 
Hydarnes succeeded in reaching the high ground, or 
Anopza, above the pass, and thus descending in the rear 
of the Greeks. The pass was formed by the sea wash- 
ing the foot of the steep mountains, and was narrowest 
just beyond where the hot springs, which gave their 
name to the place, issued from the ground. Here it was 
that the Spartans under Leonidas made their final stand. 

2. Locris and Doris.—At an early period the 
Locrian race extended from the Maliac to the Corin- 
thian Gulf, but at the time of the migration of the 
Boeotians from Thessaly they were broken in two, so 
that in historic times they formed two separate tribes 
on the shores of the two seas. The rugged mountains 
which form a continuation of Mount Oeta along the 
Maliac Gulf bore the name of Cnemis, and were the 
seat of the Epicnemidian Locrians, through whose 
territory there was a pass of great importance between 
Thermopyle and the plains of Phocis, which it 
entered at Elateia. Further to the east, overlooking 
the Euboic Sea, were the Opuntian Locrians; and 
between them and the Epicnemidians the Phocians 
possessed a part, called Daphnus, facing the Eubcean 
promontory of Cenzeum, and the neighbouring Lichades 
Islands. ‘The other Locrian tribe, the Locri Ozole, 
occupied the triangular space between Aftolia and 
Phocis, the shores of which are washed by the Corin- 
thian and Crisszan Gulfs. In the extreme west of 
their territory stood Naupactus, an important city 
with a good harbour, which commanded the entrance 
of the straits ; in the extreme east, Amphissa, at the 
head of the plain which runs in from the Crisszan 
Gulf. From this place a pass leads over the moun- 
tains, through Doris, to the country of Malis and 
Northern Greece. ‘The little territory of Doris, which 














74 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


though it was at one time the seat of the Dorian race, 
only contained four towns, was an upland district 
between Parnassus and Oeta. It contained the head 
waters of the Cephisus, and was closely connected 
with Phocis by that river. 

3. Phocis.—Phocis was enclosed by the Locri 
Ozolz, Doris, the Locri Epicnemidii, Boeotia, and the 
Corinthian Gulf. It consisted of two dissimilar parts, 
the upper valley of the Cephisus and the mountain 
region of Parnassus. The former of these was a 
space of open ground in the midst of the mountains, 
interposing between Doris and Bceotia ; the latter was 
almost entirely occupied by the great mountain itself 
and its buttresses, for Parnassus is the most massive 
of all the Greek mountains. It is separated from the 
Gulf of Corinth by Mount Cirphis, and in the deep 
valley between the two mountains ran the river Plei- 
stus, which made its way into the Crisszean Gulf. This 
valley formed the:line of the famous Sy.sr dade, at 
the eastern end of which was the meeting of three 
roads, one leading to Delphi, one to Daulis, and one 
to Thebes. This was the Triddos, where Oedipus 
slew his father, Laius. On the southern side of Par- 
nassus, facing Mount Cirphis, and overlooking the 
valley of the Pleistus, stood Delphi, at a height of 
1,500 feet above the sea. From the head of the 
Crissean Gulf, where lay the port of Cirrha, to the 
buttress of Parnassus, on which stood Crissa, the 
guardian city of Delphi, extended the Sacred Plain, 
which was forbidden to be cultivated. The violation 
of this rule was the cause of a Sacred War. Above 
the rocky slopes on which Delphi is placed there rise 
two precipitous faces of rock, which run together at 
an obtuse angle; close to their point of meeting, 
where a narrow chasm is formed, the fountain of 
Castalia rises, and then falls in steep cascades to 
join the Pleistus in the valley below. The precipices 
here described are the “twin peaks” of Parnassus, 

















VIt.] CENTRAL GREECE. 75 


frequently mentioned by the Greek poets, and should 
be carefully distinguished fromthe summit of that moun- 
tain, which rises to the height of nearly 8,000 feet, and 
is not two, but one. The Temple of Apollo stood in a 
conspicuous position, close to the foot of the western 
precipice. The seclusion of the place and its magnificent 
surroundings rendered it a fitting home for a great oracle. 

4. Boeotia.—The area of Beeotia was greater than 
the combined area of all the countries that have been 
mentioned in this chapter; and it had the further 
advantage of bordering both on the eastern and 
western seas, and of lying on the highway of traffic 
between Phocis and Attica, and commanding the 
passage from Northern to Southern Greece. But all 
this seems to have been neutralized by the heavy atmo- 
sphere of its damp valleys, which caused the Boeotian 
to be known for his phlegmatic temperament, dull 
intellect, and rude manners. The interior of the 
country was enclosed by mountains on the four sides 
— towards Attica by Cithzron and Parnes ; towards 
the Euboic Sea by a continuation of the Opuntian 
Mountains ; towards the Corinthian Gulf by Helicon; 
and on the side of Phocis by spurs from the neigh- 
bouring mountains. Of these Helicon was the highest, 
and was far-famed as the abode of the Muses ; the 
name of one of its offshoots, Mount Leibethrium, and 
of the fountains on its sides, Aganippe and Hippo- 
créne, are associated with those divinities. The 
district thus enclosed was divided by intervening 
hills into two basins, the chief towns of which were 
Orchoménus and Thebes respectively ; consequently 
on these two the history of the country turns, for in 
the heroic age Orchomenus was the most important 
place in Boeotia, when it was ruled by the dynasty of 
the Minyz, and at a later period Thebes. The 
westernmost of these basins was that which enclosed 
the Copaic lake, a large expanse of shallow water, 
which in summer was hardly more than a marsh, and 








vr 


76 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. (CHAP. 


was famous for its eels. It was fed by the Cephisus, 
which, rising in Doris and flowing through the low- 
lands of Phocis, entered Beeotia by a detile near the 
city of Chzroneia. ‘This pass was the most import- 
ant entrance to the country, and in consequence of 
this the plain of Cheroneia has always been a great 
battle-field. The only outlet for the waters of the 
Copaic lake was through subterranean passages, either 
natural or artificial, which communicated with the 
KEuboic Sea. ‘The other large cities of this basin, 
besides Orchomenus and Chzroneia, were Lebadeia, 
Coroneia, and Haliartus. The other basin was less 
regular in its shape, and was drained for the most 
part by the Asopus. ‘This river rises not far from 
‘Thespize and Leuctra in the west of the country, and 
passing Tanagra and Oenophyta, empties itself into 
the eastern sea. At no great distance to the west of 
its mouth was the temple and sacred enclosure of 
Delium. Half-way between the two seas, in a plain 
of its own, stood Thebes, the capital city, built on a 
low spur of ground, which projects northwards from 
the hills behind. On either side of it flow two clear 
streams, Dirce and Isménus, which join their waters 
in the plain. This copious supply of water, and the 
central position, were the chief recommendations of 
the site. The rival town of Platza lay on the 
northern slopes of Cithzeron, and consequently in 
close proximity to Attica, with which country it had 
such intimate political relations. ‘The ground in front 
of it was the watershed of the country, from which 
the Asopus flowed in one direction, and the brook 
Oéroé in the other ; this was the scene of the battle 
of Platea and the movements that preceded it. On 
the side of Cithzron also, but further to the east, 
were the frontier towns of Hysiz and Erythrez. 

5. Eubcea.—The Island of Eubcea, from its posi- 
tion relatively to Boeotia, appears naturally to belong 
to that country. ‘This was actually the case when, in 

















vil. J CENTRAL GREECE. 77 





the course of the Peloponnesian War, the strait of the 
Euripus, at the narrowest point of the Euboic Sea, was 
spanned by a bridge. The Euripus is about 120 feet 
broad, and is divided in the middle by. a rock. It 
has always been famous for its tides, which change 
many times in the day. The command of this strait 
was of great importance, for much of the trade from 
the north of the A®gean passed by this way towards 

Attica and the Peloponnese, to avoid the dangers of 
the open sea and the rocky eastern coast of the island. 

Hence the city, which was built on the Eubcean shore 
of the Euripus, Chalcis, early rose to eminence, as is 
shown by its colonies in Chalcidice. A few miles to 
the south of this was the second city of the island, 
Eretria ; and nearly opposite, on an eminénce on the 
Beeotian side, stood Aulis, from which the fleet of 
Agamemnon sailed. The whole of Eubcea is inter- 
sected by a rocky ridge, the continuation of the chain 
of Ossa and Pelion; this reaches its highest point in 
Mount Dirphe, behind Chalcis. On the northern 
coast, opposite the entrance of the Pagaszean Gulf, was 
Artemisium, the scene of the naval conflict between 
the Greeks and Persians; and at the southern end 
were the promontories of Caphareus and Gereestus, 

greatly dreaded by sailors on account of their violent 
storms. Near the last-named cape, opposite Attica, 

was the town of Carystus. 

6. Megaris and Attica: General Features, 
—Between Beeotia and the Sardnic Gulf, lay a tri- 
angular piece of ground, which was occupied by the 
districts of Megaris and Attica; originally, however, 
before the Dorian invasion, which resulted in the 
foundation of Megara, it was politically as well as 
physically one, being entirely in the hands of the 
Jonian race. From its outlying character, stretching 
as it does into the A‘gean, it was especially fitted to 
hold intercourse with foreign countries, and to be the 
home of a great maritime power; and its light stony 














78 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


soil contributed to this result, as the unremunerative 
nature of its agriculture turned the thoughts of its 
inhabitants towards the sea. ‘The nearness of the sea 
caused its temperature to be the most equable in 
Greece, and in this respect it presented a striking 
contrast to its neighbour Boeotia, which suffered from 
extremes of heat and cold. The mountain barrier, 
which separated it from Bceotia, was formed by 
Cithzron on the west and Parnes on the east: near 
their point of junction was the pass of Phyle,, which 
was occupied. by Thrasybulus at the time of the 
Thirty Tyrants ; this led into the head of the plain. 
of Athens at Acharne. On either side of Phyle lay 
two other passes ; one by Dryoscephale, from Platea 
to Eleusis over Citheeron ; and another by Deceleia, 
from Oropus to Athens over Parnes. ‘The entire 
area was divided into a succession of plains by spurs, 
which ran southwards at right angles to Cithzron 
and Parnes. The westernmost of these skirts the 
Corinthian Gulf and attaches itself to the great mass 
of Geranelia, which stretches from sea to sea in front 
of the Isthmus ; the next forms the boundary between 
Megaris and Attica. The town of Megara was 
situated about a mile from the Saronic Gulf, on 
which it possessed the port of Niszea, with the Island 
of Minoa in front of it, while on the Corinthian Gulf 
it had another port, Pegee. Its position was the cause 
of its importance, for it commanded both seas, and the 
entrance into the Peloponnese. Of the passes that led 
from Megara into that country, one crossed the ridge 
of Geraneia, while the other skirted the Saronic Gulf 
under the dangerous precipices of the Scironian rocks. 

7. Description of Attica.— Eastward from 
Megaris lay the plain of Eleusis, which was separated 
from that of Athens by the ridge of A‘yaleos; the 
portion nearest to that mountain bore the special 
name of the Thriasian Plain. A depression in the 
ridge marked the point where the Sacred Way passed 














vit. | CENTRAL GREECE. 79 


from Athens to Eleusis. The site of that city was on 
the seashore at the head of the bay of Salamis, in 
front of which the island of that name was interposed 
from side to side. ‘The scene of the famous battle 
was the strait between that island and the extremity 
of A®galeos, and the last spur of that mountain was 
the “rocky brow,” from which Xerxes overlooked it. 
In the middle of the strait lay the little island of 
Psyttaleia. The plain of Athens was flanked by 
A®galeos and Hymettus, and extended from the foot 
of Parnes to the Saronic Gulf. On its eastern side, 
between four and five miles from the sea, was the site 
of Athens, marked by a group of low hills, to the 
north-east of which rises a more conspicuous peak, 
Mount Lycabettus. Two streams watered the plain 
—the Ilissus, flowing from Hymettus and skirting the 
east of the city, where it received the waters of the 
fountain Callirrhoé ; and the Cephisus, a larger stream, 
which rose in Parnes and formed a long line of green 
vegetation between Athens and AZgaleos, where its 
waters were diverted for purposes of irrigation, and 
fertilized the groves of Colonus and the gardens of the 
Academy. ‘The seashore of the plain was broken into 
a number of inlets, which formed the harbours of 
Athens. Towards the north-east the plain was bounded 
by the graceful peak of Pentelicus or Brilessus, in the 
sides of which were the quarries of white marble which 
furnished the material for the Athenian temples. Be- 
tween this and Hymettus is an interval of two miles, 
which forms the entrance to the Mesogzea, an inland 
undulating plain, reaching nearly to Sunium; its 
chief town was Brauron. The promontory in which 
Hymettus terminates was called Zoster, and the strip 
of coast-land that reached from this to Sunium, and 
was separated from the Mesogzea by a line of lower 
mountains, was the district of the Paralia. At the 
north-eastern corner of Attica, facing Eubcea, was the 
little plain of Marathon, enclosed on three sides by 
14* 











80 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. (CHAP, 


Parnes and Pentelicus, and on the fourth by the sea. 
It was from the slopes of Pentelicus that the Greeks 
descended at the time of the battle, while the Persians 
were drawn up on the sea-shore, and on the two sides 
were the marshes, which impeded the movement of 
their great host. The inhabitants of this region and 
the neighbouring mountains were the Diacrii or 
Hyperacrii, one of the three political parties in 
Attica ; being poor mountaineers, they were the most 
disposed for change. ‘The other two parties were the 
Pedieis, the rich occupants of the plains, who were 
naturally conservative, and the Parali, whose interests 
were mercantile, and whose political views were 
moderate. It remains only to notice the district of 
Oropus, which geographically belonged to Beeotia, as it 
lay to the north of Parnes towards the Euboic Sea ; 
but the Athenians kept a firm hand upon it, in order 
to maintain their communication with Eubcea. 

8. Athens.—The most conspicuous among the 
hills of Athens was a rocky table with precipitous 
sides, nearly oval in shape, and level on the summit, 
on which stood the Acropolis. Its area was about 
1,000 feet in length by 500 in breadth, and it rose 
about 350 feet above the plain. ‘The Propylea, or 
defensive works, through which it was approached on 
the western side, were masterpieces of architecture ; 
and on the level summit stood—among other magni- 
ficent works of art—on the north side the colossal 
bronze statue of Athena Promachus, and the Ionic 
temple called the Erechtheium ; on the south side the 
Parthenon. This place, as has already been remarked, 
(p. 67), was the original city, and was afterwards 
retained as a fortress and a sanctuary. The view 
from it embraced the whole plain of Athens and 
the neighbouring mountains, together with the Saronic 
Gulf, Aegina and the Argolic coast, and the Acrocorinth. 
The precipices on the north side of the Acropolis were 
called the Long Rocks (Maxpai zérpac), and under- 














Vil.] CENTRAL GREECE. 81 


neath these lay the Pelasgicum, which was regarded 
as an accursed spot of ground. Westward of the 
Acropolis, and separated from it by a deep depression, 
was a craggy knoll, the Areiopagus. The meetings of 
the famous court 9f that name were held on its 
summit, where stone benches are excavated in the 
rock, so as to form three sides of a square: these 
were reached by a flight of stone steps from below. 
The Areiopagus served as a link to connect the 
Acropolis with the other hills, which formed a line on 
the western side. The northernmost of these was the 
Hill of the Nymphs ; next came the Hill of the Pnyx, 
and to the south the Museium. ‘The Pnyx, which was 
the great meeting-place of the Athenians, faced the 
Propylea, and consisted of a sloping area of ground 
capable of containing many thousand persons, at the 
top of which was a bema or tribune, supported on 
stone steps. The space enclosed between the Acro- 
polis, the Areiopagus, and the Pnyx, is supposed by 
some to have. been the Agora, though others believe 
that place to have been in the lower ground north of 
the Areiopagus. About.and northward of the Hill of 
the Nymphs, was the quarter called Cerameicus. The 
great theatre of Dionysus, in which the plays of the 
Attic dramatists were performed, stood close to the 
south-eastern angle of the Acropolis, some of the rows 
of seats being excavated in the hill-side ; it was capable 
of containing 20,000 persons. The sacred enclosure 
within which it lay was called the Lenzeum. In early 
times the city spread itself on the southern side of the 
Acropolis, but at a later period it also covered the 
space towards the north, though it did not extend 
much more than half a mile in that direction. 

9. Harbours of Athens.—On the sea-coast to 
the south-west of Athens there rises a mass of rocky 
ground, the Hill of Munychia, which formed the 
acropolis of the town of Pirzus. Eastward of this 
stretched the open roadstead of Phalérum, while on 
the western side lay the closed harbour of Pirzus. 








82 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. (CHAP. 


This latter is nearly perfect of its kind, being deep, 
spacious, and landlocked, for a tongue of land called 
Ketioneia, projecting from the northern shore, almost 
closed its entrance. On the southern side of it was an 
inlet called Cantharus, which was reserved for vessels 
of war, the rest being devoted to the merchant navy. 
On the opposite side of the Pirzic peninsula a small 
harbour called Zea penetrated into the land, and 
together with Cantharus nearly divided the peninsula 
in two. Between Zea and Phalerum a little bight in 
the Hill of Munychia formed the harbour of that name. 
The original Long Walls, which were planned by 
Themistocles, ran from Athens, the one to Pirzeus, the 
other to the eastern side of the bay of Phalerum. 
The third, which was added by the advice of Pericles, 
connected the eastern part of the fortifications of 
Pireeus towards Munychia with the city. 


CHAPTER SVITT. 
THE PELOPONNESE AND THE ISLANDS. 


1. The Peloponnese : Coast and Mountains. 
—The Peloponnese, from its broad surface and deeply 
indented outline, may be compared to a leaf of the 
plane or maple-tree. But in respect of the variety of 
form in its coast a distinction must be drawn between 
different parts. The uniform appearance of its 
northern shore contrasts forcibly with the broken 
outline of the opposite side of the Corinthian Gulf. 
So, too, its western districts, like those of Northern 
Greece (see p. 67), are singularly devoid of harbours, 
the only one of any importance being that of Pylos in 
Messenia. ‘The southern coast, on the other hand, 
with its triple promontories, and the deep Messenian 
and Laconian bays, reminds us of the trident of the 
peninsula of Chalcidice (p. 62); and the territory of 
Argolis is the most subdivided and most maritime of 
all. The mountains of the Peloponnese can best be 














Vil] PELOPONNESE AND THE ISLANDS. 83 


regarded as radiating from Arcadia, which is the high- 
land district of the country. The principal chain runs 
along the north of that region, separating it from 
Achaia, and rises to three conspicuous peaks, all over 
7,000 feet high—Cylléne in the east, Aroanius in the 
centre, and Erymanthus in the west. The other chief 
mountains run at right angles to this: on the east of 
Arcadia Artemisium and Parthenium, which are con- 
tinued by Parnon through Laconia to the promontory 
of Maléa; in the centre of the country Menalus, 
which afterwards rises as Taygétus to the height of 
nearly 8,000 feet between Laconia and Messenia, and 
extends to the extremity of Tzenarum ; to the west a 
more irregular range, the highest point of which is 
Lyczeum in south-western Arcadia, whence it is pro- 
longed. by hilly country to the headland of Acritas. 
The mountains of Argolis form a separate chain, inter- 
secting that district from Cyllene to Cape Scylleum ; 
towards the north they form the Oneian range, which 
faces the Isthmus. Thus the Peloponnese more than 
any other part of Greece forms a distinct unity, the 
occupants of which could naturally combine for 
defensive purposes, but at the same time consists of 
separate provinces, incapable of permanently amalga- 
mating with one another. From its peninsular and 
maritime character it was also the culminating point of 
the Greek continent, and (taken as a whole) it contained 
the most vigorous and most Hellenic nationalities. 
Finally, it was the keep of the fortress, in which a last 
stand could be made, when the outworks were taken. 
2. Corinthia.—The Isthmus of Corinth was a 
space of undulating ground, reaching from Geraneia 
to the Oneian mountains, and from the Corinthian to 
the Saronic Gulf; it was about three-and-a-half 
miles wide in its narrowest part. Its surface was sufh- 
ciently level for vessels to be dragged across it, and 
for this purpose a diolcos, or sort of roadway, was 
constructed. Nero attempted to cut a canal through 


it, and walls were built across it at various periods. 
8 














84 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


Towards the Saronic Gulf was situated the sanctuary 
of Poseidon, where the Isthmian games were held. 
The true line of defence of the approach to the Pelo- 
ponnese was formed by the Oneian mountains, in 
front of which stood Corinth, with its towering citadel 
rock, the Acrocorinth. Hence that city was of the 
utmost importance for strategic purposes, while its 
commercial prosperity arose from its commanding the 
two seas. On these it possessed two ports—that of 
Lechzeum on the Corinthian, and that of Cenchreze 
on the Saronic Gulf. About nine miles to the north- 
west of Corinth, not far from the sea, stood Sicyon, a 
place of great political importance at an early period. 

3. Achaia.—The coast-land from Sicyon to the 
promontory of Araxus beyond the entrance of the 
Corinthian Gulf formed the district of Achaia, which 
consisted, in fact, of the slopes between the Arcadian 
mountains and the Gulf of Corinth. This was a 
prosperous and fertile country, but did not become 
important till a late period in the history of Greece, 
for the want of harbours prevented it from becoming 
a maritime power. Its area was broken up by the 
spurs of the mountains running down to the sea, and 
thus dividing it into a number of small areas, inter- 
sected by numerous torrents. The result of this was, 
as in the similarly formed country of Phcenicia (p. 34), 
that its twelve cities were held together by forming a 
confederation ; and this political union was the germ 
from which sprang the famous combination called the 
Achean League. ‘The principal cities of this were— 
inside the straits, Pelléne, A‘gze, A’gium, and Helice ; 
and outside, Patree (Patras), above which rises the 
lofty Mount Panachaicus. It should be remembered, 
that when Roman writers speak of Achaia, they mean 
the province of that name, which included all Greece 
as far north as Mount Othrys, corresponding to the 
modern kingdom of Greece. 

4. Elis.—The north-western angle of the Pelo- 
ponnese was occupied by Elis, a country mainly com- 














vul.] PELOPONNESE AND THE ISLANDS. 85 


posed of river-valleys, and fringed along the shore by 
a belt of sand, from which projected the rocky head- 
land of Chelonatas. It was divided into three portions 
—Hollow Elis, which was the vale of the Peneius, 
together with the slopes of Mount Erymanthus, from 
which it flows ; Pisatis, the central portion, comprising 
the environs of the lower valley of the Alpheius, and 
separated from the former district by Mount Pholoé, 
an offshoot of Erymanthus; and Triphylia, a narrow 
strip of land between the mountains and the sea, 
reaching as far south as the confines of Messenia, 
from which country it was separated by the river 
Neda. The people of Elis had a port, called Cylléne, 
in a little bight on the northern side of Cape Che- 
lonatas ; but by far the most important place in the 
country was Olympia, the scene of the great festival. 
This sacred spot lay in a wide and fertile valley, 
flanked by low hills, and watered by a long reach of 
the Alpheius ; being only a few miles from the sea, it 
was a place of easy resort for visitors from the Greek 
colonies, as well as from the mainland ; especially 
from Sicily, many natives of which island were cele- 
brated by Pindar for their victories in the games. 
‘The temple of Zeus, together with the stadium and 
hippodrome, were situated on levels on the north side 
of the river, near where it is joined by the stream of 
the Cladeus. The prosperity of Elis greatly depended 
on the sacred character it enjoyed as the home of this 
Pan-Hellenic celebration. 

5. Messenia.—Messenia, the district which lies 
south of Elis and west of Laconia, was the most fertile 
region in Greece, and enjoyed the softest and warmest 
climate. Hence arose its misfortunes, for the richness 
of its soil was a temptation to its Laconian neighbours, 
and its inhabitants did not possess the vigorous con- 
stitution necessary for a permanent resistance. It had 
an upper and a lower plain, bounded by mountains 
which run southwards from Mount Lyceum, on the 
one side to Cape Acritus, on the other towards the 














86 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


flanks of Mount Taygetus: between the two plains 

intervened a narrow valley formed by two projecting 

spurs, that on the western side being Mount Ithome. 

The upper plain, which is deeply sunk in the moun- 

tains, is that of Stenyclérus, and near its head stood 

the rocky eminence of Eira, the scene of the final 

death-struggle of the nation. Ithome, at the lower 

end, which was defended for ten years by Aristodemus, 

rose steeply to a broad summit, 2,600 feet above the 

sea. When the Messenians were restored to their 

country by Epaminondas, the city of Messene was 

built on the western side of this mountain. The 

lower plain extended from the foot of Ithome to the 

head of the Messenian Gulf, and was watered by the 

Pamisus. On the western coast of Messenia was 

situated the fine harbour of Pylos (Bay of Navarino), 

which was formed by an indentation of the coast, 

with the long and narrow island of Sphacteria stretch- 

ing in front of it. To the north of Sphacteria, and 

separated from it by a narrow channel, was the rocky 
headland of Coryphasium or Pylos, lying between the 
sea and what is now a lagoon, but formerly was in all 
probability a sandy level. Sphacteria itself is some- 
what less than three miles long, and rises very gradu- 
ally from south to north; at its northern extremity, 
opposite Pylos, where the final stand of the Spartans 
took place, it is from 400 to 500 feet high. In the 
centre of the island is a small level plain and source 
of water, and here must have been the main station 
of the Spartans. The distance from the southern end 
to the mainland is about three-quarters of a mile; but 
a great change seems to have taken place in the land 
since ancient times, for Thucydides represents the 
interval as much less. Southward of Pylos on the 
coast was a smaller harbour, Methone (Modon). On 
the other side of the promontory of Acritas was the 
town of Asine, inhabited by Dryépes, who migrated 
thither from Asine in Argolis. 

6. Laconia.—The most important part of Laconia 











vil.] PELOPONNESE AND THE ISLANDS. 87 


was the valley of Sparta, a deep depression between 
Taygetus and Parnon, eighteen miles in length by 
four or five in breadth, and intersected by the 
Eurotas, which flows down to it from the uplands of 
Arcadia, and at its southern end passes through a 
narrow defile to the sea. This was the “hollow 
Lacedzemon ” (xoiikn Aaxedainwy) of Homer; the 
epithet “full of hollows” (knrwecoa) refers to the 
numerous rifts and fissures in the undulating ground 
in its neighbourhood. ‘The city of Sparta stood on 
several low hills at the edge of the plain, on the 
western bank of the stream; and the absence of a 
circuit of walls is sufficiently explained by the rampart 
of mountains that rose on all sides of it. Only two 
passes led through these, and both were rugged and 
easy of defence. One of them led from the Steny- 
clerian plain and from south-western Arcadia into the 
upper valley of the Eurotas; the other passed by Sellasia, 
eastward of Sparta, where the roads from Tegea in 
south-eastern Arcadia and from Argos through Thyréa 
met. Sellasia was the scene of the great defeat of 
the Spartans by Antigonus Doson (B.c. 221). The 
position of this people in this remote valley explains 
many things in their history and institutions. Such a 
nation would be naturally exclusive and unaffected by 
external ideas. Hence also arose the possibility of 
maintaining a rigid system, such as that of Lycurgus, 
and the concentrated vigour of their action. The 
rest of Laconia, which was cultivated by the Periceci, 
was a mountainous region; but the Sciritis, on the 
northern frontier, was the most rugged district of all. 
The region of Cynuria in the neighbourhood of the 
Argolic Gulf, with its town of Thyrea, was the border- 
land between Laconia and Argolis. Of the places on 
the coast, we may notice Gytheium, the port of Sparta, 
westward of the mouth of the Eurotas; and on the 
eastern coast the safe harbour of Epidaurus Liméra. 
The island of Cythéra, which lay opposite Malea, was 
on several occasions a source of danger to Laconia, 











83 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


from its liability to be occupied by an enemy’s 
forces. At an early period it was a great resort of 
the Phoenicians for the sake of the purple fisheries. 

7, Arcadia.—Arcadia is the central district of the 
Peloponnese, and is enclosed by mountains, being 
itself very elevated, for the average level is 2,000 feet 
above the sea. A great part of it was covered with 
forests of oak and pine, whence Pan and Artemis 
were two of the principal divinities of the country. It 
was divided into two portions, eastern and western, 
by Mount Meenalus, and these two areas were different 
in character. T hat to the west is an undulating up- 
land plain, the southern part of which is drained by 
the Alpheius, rising near the head-waters of the 
Eurotas; the northern by its chief tributary, the 
Ladon. Its most famous town was Megalopolis, 
which was founded by Epaminondas, to command the 
pass that enters Laconia by the valley of the Eurotas. 
The eastern portion, on the other hand, was com- 
posed of a number of closed valleys, which from 
being completely surrounded by mountains have no 
outlet for their waters, and consequently are partly 
occupied by lakes or marshy ground, and are drained 
by subterranean channels, called Catavothras. Three 
of these lie towards the north—those of Phenéus, 
Stymphalus, and Orchoménus, while to the south is 
the great double plain of Mantineia and Tegéa: the 
Catavothra of this lay on the confines of the two 
territories, and was a source of dispute to the two 
cities. The importance of Tegéa consisted in its 
commanding the pass by which eastern Arcadia could 
be approached from Sparta; and that of Mantineia 
in like manner in its commanding those towards 
Argos. The plain of Mantineia was the scene of 
several important battles. The effect on the Arcadians 
of their seclusion and the absence of all maritime 
influences was to render thein rude and boorish ; and 
this was increased by the heavy air of the closed 
valleys, which affected them as it did the Beeotians 








vii.) PELOPONNESE AND THE ISLANDS. 89 


(p. 75). Being excluded from other careers, they 
adopted the trade of mercenaries, and became to the 
other Greeks what the Swiss, who hold a similar 
position in Europe, have been in‘modern history. 

8. Argolis.—Argolis forms a peninsula to itself, 
separate from the rest of the Peloponnese, and from 
its length of coast bore in early times the name of 
Acte, which was also applied to Attica, a territory of 
corresponding shape. In consequence of this it was 
brought more into contact with the outer world than 
the other states, and rose to importance at an earlier 
period. The head-quarters of this primitive civilisa- 
tion was the plain of Argos, which, like that of 
Athens, is surrounded on three sides by mountains, 
but on the southern side opens out towards the sea. 
On a hill at the head of this stood the earliest seat of 
empire, Mycénz ; and on the eastern side nearer to 
the sea, on a crest of rock rising out of the level plain, 
was Tiryns, famed for its massive Cyclopean walls. 
Opposite this lay Argos, with its ancient acropolis, 
called by the Pelasgian name of Larissa ; and on the 
coast, where a rocky tongue of land projects into the 
bay from its eastern shore, was Nauplia, originally a 
colony of the Phcenicians, and a point of contact 
between that people and the Greeks. As at Cythera, 
so here also, the Phoenicians were attracted by the 
purple-fisheries, and in return imparted to the in- 
habitants the arts of the East (see p. 35). Between 
the plain of Argos and the district of Corinth an 
upland region intervened, which was divided into a 
number of small plains, forming the territories of 
Phlius, Nemea, and Clednz. The pass that led into 
this from the neighbourhood of Mycenz was the 
Tretos, a rugged defile, known as the abode of the 
Nemean lion. The maritime towns of Argolis, several 
of which were of great importance, may be noticed 
in following the coast round from the head of the 
Argolic Gulf. A little to the south of Nauplia we 
meet with Asine, the Dryopian inhabitants of which, 

















90 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP, 


when expelled by the Argives, settled in Messenia 
(p. 85); at the broad end of the peninsula, in the 
recesses of a safe bay, lay Hermione, also a Dryopian 
town ; then passing round Cape Scyllzum, and the 
little island of Calaureia, where Demosthenes died, 
we reach Troezen, somewhat withdrawn from the 
coast, and finally Epidaurus. In front of Troezen a 
strange peninsula of volcanic origin, that of Methana, 
projects into the sea; and between this and the coast 
of Attica, in the middle of the Saronic Gulf, les the 
island of Aigina. The position of this opposite 
Athens rendered it an outpost of the Peloponnesians, 
and justified the title applied to it by Pericles, “ the 
eyesore of the Pirzeus.” 

9. The Islands of the At‘ gean.—The islands 
which belong to the eastern and western shores of the 
fégean have already been noticed in connection with 
the neighbouring continents. Of the rest, some form 
themselves into groups, like the Cyclades, while others 
are more isolated in their position. All of them are 
extremely rocky, and rise into lofty peaks of beautiful 
form; and though on the map they may resemble a 
handful of pebbles flung down, yet not a few of them . 
are of considerable extent: Naxos, for instance, is 
nearly twenty miles long. In the northern waters, 
or Thracian Sea, lie Thasos, famous for its gold-mines ; 
Samothrace, the home of the worship of the Cabeiri ; 
Imbros ; and Lemnos, the island on which, according 
to the story, Hepheestus fell, and which bears evident 
signs of volcanic action. From the extremity of 
Pelion there runs off a string of small islands, of 
which Sciathos and Scopélos are the chief; and 
further to the south, opposite Eubcea, is Scyros, once 
the home of Achilles. We have noticed (pp. 65, 66) 
how two lines of islands form continuations of the 
mountains of Greece—Andros, Tenos, and Myconos 
beyond the extremity of Euboea, and Ceos, Cythnos, 
Seriphos, and Siphnos beyond that of Attica; and 
the appearance they present is that of a mountain- 














vil.] PELOPONNESE AND THE ISLANDS. gI 


chain half submerged in the sea. Between these two 
lines lay the rock of Gyaros, the Roman place of 
banishment; and the interval between Myconos and 
Samos was bridged by the long line of Icaria, to the 
south of which a space of sea was called the Icarian 
Sea, and contained the island of Patmos, the place of 
exile of St. John the Evangelist. These islands, it 
should be remembered, were a great help to coloni- 
zation and commerce in the infancy of navigation, 
because a ship could pass from one to another of 
them without losing sight of land. Close to Myconos 
lay the sister islands of Delos and Rheneia, divided 
by a narrow strait; on the shore of this was the 
famous temple ef Apollo in Delos, and behind it rose 
the height of Cynthus. Further to the south was the 
important island of Naxos, and Paros with its quarries 
of white marble. These islands, together with those 
that formed the two lines just mentioned, were called 
the Cyclades, because they were regarded as forming 
a circle round the sacred isle of Delos. Those that 
lay immediately to the south of these bore the name 
of Sporades, from their more irregular grouping. ‘Two 
of the most outlying of these were ancient volcanic 
craters—Melos to the south-west, and Thera (Santorin), 
the mother-island of Cyréne, due south ; the latter has 
been in a state of eruption both in classical times 
and in our own days. To the southward of Thera 
extended the wide expanse of the Cretan Sea, which 
was much dreaded by sailors on account of its stormy 
character. Finally, another chain of islands formed 
a link between Europe and Asia, where Crete is 
connected on the one side by Cythera with the 
Peloponnese, and on the other by Casos, Carpathos, 
and Rhodes with Caria. Crete itself was intersected 
in its whole length by a lofty mountain range, the 
snowy summits of which were visible both from Malea 
and from Thera; its central peak was Mount Ida. 
The principal cities were Cydonia and Cnossus on 
the northern side, and Gortyna on the southern at the 














g2 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


foot of Ida. Cnossus was the ancient capital, and 
the fabled Labyrinth was in its neighbourhood ; but 
in Roman times the chief city was Gortyna. On the 
southern coast was the harbour called the “ Fair 
Havens,” where St. Paul landed when on his voyage 
from Judza to Rome. 

10. The Western Islands.—Of the islands on 
the western side of Greece the northernmost was 
Corcyra (Corfu), which forms a breakwater before a 
portion of the coast of Epirus. It was an important 
station on the passage from Greece to Italy. The 
city was situated on the eastern side, on a peninsula 
between the sea and a shallow inlet, called the 
Hyllaic harbour. In its neighbourhood were two 
conspicuous peaks close to the sea, which Virgil calls 
the “aerias Phaeacum arces,” and which form the 
modern citadel. To the north of these lay an islet 
called Ptychia. The next large island, Leucas or 
Leucadia (Santa Maura) lying just south of the 
entrance of the Ambracian gulf, was originally joined 
to the mainland by an isthmus, but the Corinthian 
colonists cut this through, and converted a peninsula 
into an island: the canal, however, was soon filled up 
by a deposit of sand. At the southern extremity of 
the island was the cape Leucate, with its temple of 
Apollo, from which Sappho was said to have thrown 
herself into the sea. Beyond this was the rugged 
Ithaca, with its conspicuous mountain, Neritos ; and, 
separated from it by a narrow strait, the large island 
of Cephallenia. ‘The last that remains to be mentioned 
is Zacynthus (Zante), which lay off the coast of Elis. 


CHAPTER IX. 
NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ITALY. 


1. General Features of Italy: The Apen- 
nines.—The comparison by which the shape of Italy 
can best be described is the familiar one of a boot 

















1x.)  NURTHERN AND CENTRAL ITALY. 93 


kicking a football. According to this, Sicily is the 
ball, Bruttium is the toe of the boot, and Calabria the 
heel, the interval between which is formed by the 
Bay of Tarentum ; and the promontory of Garganus 
is the spur. The determining features of the geo- 
graphy of Italy are the Alps and the sea, by which it 
is bounded, and the Apennines which intersect it. 
The seas between which it lies are the Adriatic (Mare 
Hadriaticum, Hadria), or, as it was more commonly 
called by the Romans, the Mare Superum, and the 
Tyrrhenian Sea, or Mare Inferum, while between the 
sole of the boot and the coast of Greece the Ionian 
Sea extended. For purposes of description the entire 
country may conveniently be divided into three 
portions :—the northern, or that which lies between 
the Alps and a line formed by the coast of the Ligus- 
ticum Mare (Gulf of Genoa) and the Apennines as 
far east as Ariminum; the central, reaching from 
thence to the southern limit of Campania and “Mount 
Garganus ; while the remainder is the southern portion. 
The Apennines, which take their rise near the point 
where the Alps sink down towards the Ligurian 
Sea, pursue an easterly course till they almost touch 
the Adriatic, and then turning. directly to the south- 
east, throughout Central Italy are not far removed 
from that sea, but send down spurs to the Mare 
Inferum, which enclose plains of considerable extent 
in Latium and Campania. In the southern portion, 
on the other hand, the mountains retire from the 
Adriatic, and leave room for an extensive tract of 
level ground in Apulia. The rivers, which, except 
in the north, are nowhere of great size, run from 
this central backbone towards the two seas; and 
the greater part of the surface of the country is 
broken up into deep valleys which penetrate amongst 
and through the mountains. Thus Italy is diversified 
by fertile plains, upland pastures, and forest land. It 
has also a line of volcanic action running through it 
and Sicily from south to north, in the active volcanoes 














04 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


of ‘Etna, Stromboli, and Vesuvius, the extinct crater 
of the Mons Vultur, between Lucania and Apulia, the 
Phlegreean plains in Campania, the Alban Hills in 
Latium, and several spots in Etruria. 

2. Contrast of Italy and Greece.—From this 
description it will be seen that the configuration of 
Italy, when compared with that of Greece, presents 
many points of contrast which greatly affected the 
development of the two peoples. The long sea line 
of Italy is comparatively uniform, and but little 
indented with bays and harbours, nor are there, as in’ 
Greece, numerous islands lying off the coast. The 
last limb, in which the peninsula would naturally cul- 
minate, instead of being attached to the body, as the 
Peloponnese is to the rest of Greece, in the case of 
Sicily is dissevered from it by a strait. And the 
irregularities of the valleys in the interior, by providing 
a means of passing from one district to another, 
caused the separate parts to be less complete in them- 
selves. Thus the inhabitants were not tempted to a 
maritime life, like the Greeks, nor drawn out of 
themselves; while at the same time the internal 
influences were less local and less characteristic. It 
should also be remarked how Greece and Italy stand, 
as it were, back to back to one another ; for whereas 
the outlets of the former country are, as we have seen, 
towards the east (p. 67), those of Italy are towards the 
west ; and thus the two were left, during the greater 
part of their history, to pursue their own courses 
independently of one another. 

3. The Alps.—The vast chain of the Alps, which 
presents a formidable obstacle to those who approach 
Italy from the north, stretches in an arc from the head 
of the Mare Inferum to that of the Mare Superum, 
starting from the former near the Portus Herculis 
Moneci (Monaco), and descending on the latter 
beyond Tergeste (Trieste). The passes of the Alps 
were not distinguished by the Romans by a different 
name from that of the chains through which they led. 











1X. ] NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ITALY. 95 


Starting from the Ligurian Sea, the range at first takes 
a northerly direction between Gaul and Italy, inclu- 
ding,—first, the Alpes Maritime; next, the Alpes 
Cottie, over which an important pass (Mont 
Genévre) led from Vienna on the Rhone (Vienne) 
through the territory of the Allobroges to Augusta 
‘Taurinorum (Turin); and lastly, the Alpes Graiz 
(Little St. Bernard), by which Hannibal entered Italy. 
Here the Alps begin to turn towards the east, the 
corner stone at the angle being formed by Mont 
Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe. Then follows 
the Pennine chain, between Helvetia and Italy, with 
the pass of the great St. Bernard, and still further to 
the east the Alpes Rheeticee. After this, the mountains 
that sweep round towards the Adriatic bear the name 
of Carnian or Julian Aips. ‘The Apennines, though 
a well-marked chain, nowhere approach the elevation 
of the Alps, for their loftiest summits in the centre of 
the peninsula do not reach 10,000 feet, whereas some 
of the Alps are half as high again. 

4. Northern Italy.—Northern Italy was com- 
posed of three districts, Liguria, Gallia Cisalpina, and 
Venetia. The first-mentioned of these countries 
included the shores of the Ligusticum Mare, and the 
range of the Apennines which here borders the sea, 
together with the territory at the back, as far as 
Augusta Taurinorum and the Padus. It was a rugged 
district, inhabited by equally rude mountaineers. The 
last named, Venetia, was all that lay east of the 
Athésis (Adige), about the head of the Adriatic. Its 
chief city was Aquileia, near the innermost waters of 
that sea, which derived its importance from its being 
the first stronghold to oppose an enemy who entered 
Italy by land from the east. In the west, Patavium, 
the birthplace of Livy, was also a place of importance. 
The rest of Northern Italy was the country inhabited 
by the Italian Gauls, which, to distinguish it from 
Gallia proper, was known as Gallia Cisalpina ; in later 
times it was piso called Togata, because of the number 
15* 














96 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. (CHAP, 


of Roman citizens who were settled in it. This entire 
area is one perfectly level expanse, 200 miles in length, 
from the upper waters of the Po near Turin to the 
Adriatic, and from 60 to roo in width between the 
Alps and the Apennines. On its northern side, at the 
foot of the Alps, and flanked by the spurs of those 
mountains, lie several lakes, the principal of which 
were called in ancient times Verbanus (Lago Mag- 
giore), Larius (Lago di Como), and Benacus (Lago di 
Garda). The vast plain is drained by the Padus or 
Eridanus (Po)—the king of rivers, ‘ fluviorum rex,” 
as Virgil calls it—which runs due west and east; and 
by its numerous tributaries, the principal of which 
flow from the northern side, where they are fed by the 
waters and snows of the Alps. The chief of these 
are those which carry off the waters of the three great 
lakes—the Ticinus those of Verbanus, the Addua of 
Larius, and the Mincius of Benacus. Of the southern 
affluents only one deserves notice, and that less for 
its size than for the great battle between the Romans 
and Carthaginians that was fought on its banks— 
the Trebia, which joins the Padus near Placentia. In 
consequence of this abundant supply of water this 
region is one of the most fertile tracts in Europe. 
The principal Gallic tribes that were settled in it were 
—to the south of the lakes of Verbanus and Larius 
the Insubres, whose chief city was Medioeanum 
(Milan); between Benacus and the Padus the Ceno- 
mani; about the mouths of the Padus the Lingones ; 
between these and the Apennines the Boii ; and to the 
south of Ariminum the Senones. In later times the 
district was occupied by important Roman colonies 
which were planted there, at first with the object of 
keeping the Gauls in check—thus Placentia and 
Crem6na were founded just before the second Punic 
war—and afterwards with the view of occupying the 
productive lands. To the south of the Padus, follow- 
ing the line of the Via 7milia, by which the great 
northern road from Rome, the Via Flaminia, was 














1x. ] NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ITALY. 97 


continued from Ariminum towards the north-west, were 
Bononia (Bologna), Mutina (Modena), Parma, and 
Placentia (Piacenza). On the northern side, to the 
west of Placentia stood Ticinum (Pavia) on the 
Ticinus ; to the east, Cremona on the Padus, Mantua 
on the Mincius, and Ver6dna on the Athesis. On the 
coast between Ariminum and the mouths of the Padus 
was Ravenna, the station of the Roman fleet on the 
Mare Superum. 

5. Central Italy: Etruria.—The mountain 
region of Italy commences with Etruria, which was 
the northernmost country of the central district. We 
have seen (p. 93) how in this part the Apennines, 
which intersect the peninsula, are further removed from 
the lower than from the upper sea, and form the 
extensive plains of Latium and Campania by means 
of lateral spurs, which run down to the sea and thus 
enclose them.on the two sides. Etruria, which inter- 
poses between Cisalpine Gaul and Latium, is neither a 
level nor yet-a highly mountainous country, but com- 
posed for the most part of irregular hilly ground, 
though the sea-coast is skirted by a flat marshy tract, 
now called the Maremma, and there are considerable 
spaces of alluvial ground about the two principal 
river-valleys—that of the Arnus in the north, and that 
of the Clanis, which flows at right angles to it, towards 
the south. The boundaries of Etruria are, on the 
north the Apennines, on the west the Tyrrhenian Sea, 
and on the east the Tiber, which skirts it throughout 
its whole course from its source to its mouth, and 
receives the waters of the Clanis. The sea-coast, the 
line of which was followed by the Via Aurelia, at two 
points formed considerable headlands—the Mons 
Agentarius near the town of Cosa, and the promon- 
tory of Populonium near the town of that name; 
between the latter and Corsica lay the island of Ilva 
(Elba). The southern portion of the country is a 
volcanic district, comprising a number of lakes which 
Occupy extinct craters ; the largest of these is that of 












98 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. (CHAP. 


Vulsinii, and of the same character was the Ciminian 
Lake, the hills and forests in the neighbourhood of 
which were for a long time the limit of the Roman 
arms. In this part lay the cities which were most 
closely connected with Roman history—Veil, only 
twelve miles distant from Rome, and Agylla or Cxre 
in the same neighbourhood, a little to the north of 
which were Falerii and Tarquinii. Beyond these, 
Clusium, the city of Porsena, stood in the valle of 
the Clanis, and Perusia (Perugia), near that of the 
Tiber, and within a triangle formed by these two 
cities and Cortona was the lake Trasimenus, on the 
northern shore of which occurred the great defeat of 
the Romans by Hannibal. In the upper valley of the 
Arnus, at the foot of the Apennines, was Arretium, 
and near its lower course Feesiile, close to which on 
the river itself the colony of Florentia (Florence) was 
planted by the Romans in the later period of the 
republic ; near its mouth lay Pise (Pisa), the port of 
which was used by the Roman fleets. In this enumera- 
tion the names of the principal of the twelve cities 
of the Etrurian League have occurred. ‘This people 
possessed the earliest civilisation of any in Italy, and 
were a great maritime power in the infancy of the 
Roman state. Their proficiency in the arts is shown 
by the paintings in their sepulchres, and by their 
works in metal and pottery, as well as their massive 
works in masonry, such as the Cloaca Maxima at Rome. 

6. Umbria.—In the more restricted use of the 
name Umbria was the country enclosed by the 
Apennines, the Tiber, which separated it from Etruria, 
and the Nar, one of the principal tributaries of that 
river, which was famed for its white and sulphureous 
water. But this region was after a time extended 
across the Apennines to the Adriatic, so as to include 
the territory possessed by the Gallic tribe of the 
Senones; and this additional district was divided 
from Picénum by the river Aésis, and from Cisalpine 
Gaul by the Rubicon. As Cisalpine Gaul was not 





Ix.} NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ITALY. 99 


included in Italy at the time when it formed part of 
Ceesar’s province, his crossing that river was equi- 
valent to an invasion of Italy and a declaration of 
war. On the Adriatic coast of this country lay the 
important towns of Ariminum and Pisaurum, to the 
southward of the latter of which flowed the small 
river Metaurus, famous for the defeat of Hasdrubal. 
The region to the south of the Apennines was for the 
most part mountainous, but in the centre of it lies a 
plain famed for its beauty and fertility, being watered 
by the clear stream of the Clitumnus; here were bred 
the white oxen that were sacrificed by the Romans on 
occasions of special festivity. The principal cause of 
the importance of Umbria was that it commanded the 
approach to Rome from the north by the line of the 
Via Flaminia, which, starting from Ariminum and 
following the valley of the Metaurus upwards, crossed 
the Apennines, and passed through Nuceria, Mevania, 
Carstile, and Narnia in that country. 

7. The Sabine Territory.—tThe territory that 
lay to the south-east of Umbria, separated from it by 
the Nar, and from Latium by the Anio, was inhabited 
by the Sabines. Its principal river was the Velinus, 
which flows into the Nar. It was an elevated and 
rugged district throughout, so that even the Mons 
Lucretilis, which borders on the Campagna of Rome, 
reaches a height of more than 4,000 feet. In conse- 
quence of this its occupants were known for their 
frugality and purity of domestic life, which are the best 
characteristics of mountaineers, and formed a marked 
contrast to the luxury and depravity of the neigh- 
bouring capital. Their chief town was Reate, to 
which the Via Salaria led from Rome. At the back 
of the Mons Lucretilis flowed the Digentia, on the 
banks of which Horace had his Sabine farm. From the 
upper part of this region, near the foot of the Apen- 
nines, which was the original home of the Sabines, 
went forth a number of colonies, who formed the 
nations of the Picentes, the Samnites, and the Hirpini 

















100 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY, [CHAP, 


8. Picenum; Vestini, Marrucini, Frentani, 
Marsi, Peligni.—The country to the east of Umbria, 
between the Apennines and the Adriatic, was occupied 
by the Picentes or people of Picenum, after whom 
followed in order the Vestini, Marrucini, and Frentani, 
which last tribe was separated from Apulia by the 
Tifernus. The characteristics of this entire region 
are the same—a fertile soil, a genial climate, hills 
sloping from the lofty mountains to the coast, and 
numerous streams of no great size running parallel to 
one another. It contained no cities of first-rate 
importance, with the exception of AncOdna in the 
north of Picenum, which was originally a Greek 
colony, and possessed a good harbour. The elevated 
valleys in the heart of the Apennines, which lay 
inland from the Vestini and Marrucini, were occupied 
by the Marsi and Peligni, of whom the Marsi were 
settled in the basin of the Lacus Fusinus, the level of 
which is more than 2,000 feet above the sea. This 
lake is the most central point in the Italian peninsula, 
lying exactly equidistant from the northern and 
southern extremity, and midway between the two 
seas. In consequence of their great elevation, the 
Marsian and Pelignian territories had a very severe 
climate, so that Horace speaks of extreme cold as 
“‘Peligna frigora ;” the hardy Marsi were known as 
the bravest troops in the Roman army. The Frentani 
were bordered on the south by the Samnites, from 
whom they were descended, and with whom at a later 
time we find them closely connected. Of the other 
tribes who were of Sabine origin, the Picentes, from 
their remote position towards the north, were some- 
what dissociated from the rest; but the Vestini, 
Marrucini, Marsi, and Peligni formed a sort of league 
amongst themselves, and at the time of the Social 
War we find them closely combined against Rome. 

9. Latium: General Features.—We come 
now to Latium, the most important province of 
Italy on account of its close connection with Rome. 














1x.) NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ITALY. 10I 


In its widest extent it was bounded on the west 
by Etruria, from which it was separated by the 
Tiber; on the east by a corner of Samnium and 
by Campania, where the limit was formed by the 
Liris; and on the south by the sea. But it must 
be remembered, that throughout early Roman history 
Latium signifies the land of the Latini, and did 
not include the territories of the A‘qui, Hernici, 
and Volsci, which lie within the boundaries that have 
just been given. The physical features of this district 
are strikingly different from those of the other countries 
of Central Italy that we have described. Here a 
plain of considerable extent, intersected by the Tiber, 
is interposed between the Apennines and the sea, and 
is enclosed, on the west by the mountains of Etruria ; 
on the east by a long spur thrown out by the main 
chain, the northern heights of which were occupied 
by the A%qui, the southern by the Volsci; at the 
point where this reached the sea stood the town of 
Anxur or Tarracina, built in a conspicuous position 
on white cliffs—“ zmposttum saxts late candentibus,” as 
Horace describes it. Between the mountains of the 
Equi and Volsci a wide valley intervenes, which is 
watered by the Trerus, a tributary of the Liris; this 
formed the natural passage from Rome into Campania, 
and was the line followed by the Via Latina. On the 
northern side of it, close to the Aiqui, was the territory 
of the Hernici; and the importance to Rome of their 
alliance with that people arose from their lying between 
their common enemies, the A*qui and Volsci. Now 
the western part of the plain thus enclosed belonged 
to Etruria, while the eastern part, which now forms 
the Campagna of Rome, was Latium; hence it will 
be seen that many objects which were conspicuous 
from Rome did not lie within the latter country : thus 
Lucretilis to the north-east was in the Sabine territory ; 
and Soracte due north, the snows on which Horace 
speaks of as visible from the city, was on the western 
bank of the Tiber, and consequently in Etruria, In 














CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. (CHAP. 


the middle of the plain, separated from the Apennines 
above Preeneste by an interval of five miles, and by 
an equal distance from the Volscian mountains, there 
rose an isolated group of volcanic hills, the outer line 
of which is nearly circular, forming the rim of a vast 
crater, while in other parts were smaller craters, 
several of which were filled with water. These hills 
were the Alban Hills, and the largest of these pieces 
of water was the Alban Lake. In its neighbourhood 
was the city of Alba Longa and the Alban Mount, 
with the temple of Jupiter on its summit, which was 
the central sanctuary of the Latin race; and on the 
outer hills stood Tusctilum (Frascati) facing Rome, 
while on the other side Mount Algidus rose opposite 
to the Volscian mountains: onone of the southern spurs 
‘Lanuvium was situated. The rest of Latium was an 
irregular undulating plain, the volcanic soil of which 
was cut into ravines by torrents, and thus afforded 
positions for fortified cities. The coast was sandy and 
tringed with forests, and formed small headlands at Os- 
tia, the port of Rome at the mouth of the Tiber, and at 
Antium, and a more considerable promontory at Circeii, 
Where a solitary mountain rises from the ‘sandy shore. 
Not far from this point, at the foot of the Volscian 
iuountains, lay the extensive Pomptine marshes. 

10. Its Rivers and Cities. — Of the rivers 
of Latium, the .-Tiber, which was far the most 
considerable, flowed from the north, and the Anio 
from the north-east, emerging from the mountains 
at the city of Tibur (Tivoli), where it leapt over 
the rocks and formed the celebrated waterfall. 
On the north side of the Anio, a short distance 
from its junction with the Tiber, rose a low hill, 
the Mons Sacer, famous as the scene of the seces- 
sion of the Plebs; and the Tiber, also a few 
miles above the confluence, is joined by the small 
stream of the Allia, where the forces of Rome were 
overthrown by the Gauls; while from the side of 
Etruria it receives the waters of the Creméra, noted 

















rx} NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ITALY. 103 


for the almost total destruction of the Gens Fabia on 
its banks on the same inauspicious day of the year 
(July 16). The city of Rome was situated three 
miles below the junction of the Tiber and Anio, and 
was twenty-seven miles distant from the sea at Ostia 
by the river, but only fifteen in a direct line. The 
rest of the places of note in Latium besides those 
already mentioned, may for the most part be given by 
following the two great roads, the Via Latina and 
Via Appia. On or near the Latin Way, which followed 
the more inland route, were, first, T’usculum in the 
Alban Hills, then Anagnia, once the capital city of the 
Hernici, and further on Ferentinum and Fregelle, 
near which last town the Liris was crossed and 
Campania entered, after which the Latin Way joins 
the Appian at Casilinum. On the Appian Way the 
first stage was Aricia at the southern foot of the 
Alban Hills, then Tres Tabernze and Appii Forum, 
at which place the Pomptine marshes begin, and 
extend nearly to Anxur, where the road skirts the 
sea; after which it leads by Fundi, Formiz, and 
Minturne on the banks of the Liris into Campania. 
In the neighbourhood of Minturnz were the exten- 
sive marshes, in which Caius Marius lay concealed ; 
and on a small headland near Formic stood Caiéta 
(Gaeta), the reputed burial-place of A‘neas’ nurse. 
Near the sea-coast between Ostia and Antium were 
Lavinium, the foundation of which was ascribed by 
tradition to Aineas, and Ardea, the chief city of the 
Rutiili. Finally, Praeneste (Palestrina) ought especially 
to be noticed on account of its strong position on a 
spur of the Apennines, lying due east of Rome; and 
half-way between the two cities lay the ancient town of 
Gabii. The topography of Rome itself will be given 
in the next chapter. : 

rr. Campania.—The second great plain on the 
western side of the Apennines was that of Campania. 
This country lay between the Samnite mountains and 
the sea, and was separated from Latium by the Liris, 








174 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. (CHAP. 


and cn the south was bounded by a spur of the 
Apennines, which forms a strongly-marked chain of 
lofty.summits, and projects into the sea on the south 
side of the Bay of Naples. It was not, like Latium, 
an irregular plain, but an almost’ unbroken level, 
though the northern district about Suessaand Teanum 
was hilly; but this was not originally included in 
Campania, which, as its name implies, was the country 
of the Camp4ani, or dwellers in the plain. The 
delightful climate of this region, and the fertility of 
the soil, was proverbial in ancient times ; there it was 
that the famous oil of Venafrum and the Massic and 
Falernian wines were produced. ‘The soil of the plain 
was volcanic, and traces of volcanic action were found 
not only in Mount Vesuvius, in the recesses of the Bay 
of Naples, but also in the hills on the northern side of 
that bay, which terminated in the promontory of 
Misénum, and in the neighbouring territory of Cums, 
which was called the Phlegrei Campi. To trace out 
the different districts: between the quiet stream of the 
Liris—* factturnus amnis,’ as Horace calls it—and the 
larger and swifter Vulturnus there intervened, in the 
lower part of their course, first a line of low hills, the 
Mons Massicus, and then an extent of level country, 
the Falernus Ager, while further inland lay Suessa, 
originally the capital of the Aurunci, Teanum, and 
Cales, and, nearer to the borders of Samnium, 
Venafrum. The Via Latina passed through the 
three last-named places, and joined the Via Appia 
at Casilinum, an important position, because it com- 
manded the passage of the Vulturnus. From Teanum 
a branch line ran through Samnium to Beneventum. 
Three miles from Casilinum lay’ Capua, the chief 
city of the whole region, and further to the south- 
east, Suesstila, at the foot of the Samnite mountains, 
and Nola, in the plain between them and Vesuvius. 
12, The Crater. (Bay of Naples).—The 
fairest part of the coast of Campania was the 
bay, called from its form the Crater or ‘“ Bowl,” 














Ix. | NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ITALY. 105 


and now known as the Bay of Naples. Its varied 
form, and the islands which form a continuation of its 
two promontories—Prochyta and Enaria on the north, 
and Caprez on the south, resemble the shores of 
Greece more than any other part of Italy, and 
possess great maritime advantages ; accordingly, we 
are not surprised to find that several Greek colonies 
were planted here, that of Cumez in particular, on the 
coast to the north of Cape Misenum, dating from a 
very early period. In the later Roman times, it was 
a favourite retreat of the wealthy Romans, and its 
coasts were covered with their sumptuous villas. In 
the innermost bay on the north side lay Neapolis 
(Naples), and at the foot of Vesuvius towards that 
place, Herculaneum was situated, and on the further 
side Pompeii ; on the southern coast, under the steep 
mountains which bound it, lay Surrentum, famous for 
its wines. Between the harbour of Naples and Cape 
Misenum a deep inlet, the Bay of Baix, ran in 
northward among the volcanic hills in that quarter, 
and on the west side of this stood the town of that 
name, on the east that of Putedli. This neighbour- 
hood in particular was a great place of resort, not only 
on account of its position, but because of the warm 
springs which issued from the volcanic soil. Near 
Baiz were two lakes—the Lucrine, a shallow lagoon, 
famous for its oysters, and separated from the sea by 
a strip of sand, though subsequently it was converted 
into a port by Agrippa; and the Avernus, a freshwater 
lake close by, occupying the crater of a volcano, the 
sides of which were clothed with forests ; this was the 
place of the oracle of the dead. 

13. Samnium.—The district that lay inland from 
Campania and the east of Latium was occupied by 
the Samnites, who during a long period were the 
most formidable enemies of Rome. It was a confused 
mass of rugged mountains, but there were two im- 
portant passages through it; one the line of the Via 
Appia, which passed from Capua to Beneventum, the 








106 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY [CHAP. 


capital of the independent Samnite tribe of the 
Hirpini, and thence by Equus Tuticus into Apulia ; the 
other from Venafrum in the valley of the Vulturnus to 
/ésernia, and so to Bovidnum near the head-waters of 
the Tifernus, which flowed into the Adriatic. As 
3ovianum was in the heart of Samnium, it was by this 
latter route that the Roman invasions of the country 
were usually made. Its rivers were the upper course 
of the Vulturnus in the north, and its tributary the 
Calor in the south. The mountains of the greatest 
historical importance were those that lay between 
Beneventum and the plain of Campania. To the 
west of that city rose Mount Taburnus, the neighbour- 
hood of which was the land of the Caudini, which 
contained the pass called the Caudine Forks; and 
between this and the plain ran a long ridge, the 
ee maueek of which, overlooking Capua, was Mount 
Tifata, the post so long ocenpied by Hannibal. 


CHAPTER X. 
TOPOGRAPHY OF ROME. SOUTHERN ITALY AND SICILY. 


1. Rome; its position.—The position of Rome 
was suitable for a city which was to become the capital 
of Italy. It occupied a central position in that 
country, adapted for a seat of government; and thus 
also, as its power extended, it was brought into con- 
tact with, and subdued, one after another of the 
various races of the pen{nsula. It was near the se. 
(fifteen miles distant), and therefore well situated foz 
commerce and maritime supremacy ; but at the same 
time sufficiently distant from it to be safe from attacks 
from that quarter. It was built on a number of hills 
which formed a natural fortress, but its site admitted 
of unlimited extension over the neighbouring country. 
Finally, it was provided with means of sustenance in 
the neighbouring plain of Latium, and with a high- 
way of traffic in the river that flows beneath its walls. 














x.] TOPOGRAPHY OF ROME. 107 


From this river we will commence in describing its 
topography. Where the Tiber, after receiving the 
waters of the Anio, approaches Rome, it makes twosharp 
bends, first to the west and then to the east. On the 
western, or Etruscan bank, opposite the first of these 
bends, stood the Vatican Hill; opposite the second the 
Janiculan. ‘These hills were higher than those of 
Rome, which rose on the eastern side, and were on 
an average 150 feet above the sea. The famous seven 
hills on which the city was built have been compared 
to an open hand, the palm of which is formed by the 
three that lie close to the river, the Capitoline, 
Palatine, and Aventine ; the fingers by the four that 
radiate from these, the Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, 
and Celian. To the north of these again lay the 
Pincian Hill, which was not included in Rome. 
Between the foot of the Pincian, Quirinal, and 
Capitoline Hills on the one side, and the river on the 
other, lay a considerable level, the Campus Martius, 
on which at the present day stands a large part of 
the city of Rome. The hills of Rome were separated 
from one another by well-niarked valleys, and in these 
at an early period a number of ponds and marshes 
existed, which were afterwards drained, but in some 
instances left their traces in the names attached to the 
spots, such as the Lacus Curtius in the Forum. Rome 
has always been subject to inundations, and is so to the 
present day, owing to the rapid swelling of the Tiber. 
At the commencement of the second bend of the river, 
nearly opposite the Capitoline Hill, its stream was divi- 
ded by an island, which contained a temple of A‘scu- 
lapius, and was joined by bridges to the two shores. 
2. The Capitoline, Palatine, and Aventine 
Hills.—Of the three hills of Rome that lie nearest to 
the Tiber, the Capitoline, which rises to the north, 
and the Aventine to the south, approach the bank of 
the stream ; but the Palatine, which stands further to 
the east, is removed some distance from it, leaving an 
interval of ae ground, which was enclosed between 














108 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. (CHAP. 


the slopes of the three hills and the river. This low- 
lying district was called the Velabrum, and was 
originally a marsh until it was drained by the Cloaca 
Maxima, an arched passage of Etruscan construction, 
built of massive masonry, and reaching to the Tiber. 
The southern portion of the area towards the Aven- 
tine was called the Forum Boarium, and contained the 
cattle-market, or Smithfield, of Rome; while the 
Forum Olitorium, the vegetable market, or Covent 
Garden, lay between the Capitoline and the river. 
The valley above the Forum Boarium, between the 
Palatine and Aventine, was drained by a stream called 
the Aqua Crabra, and was almost filled by the Circus 
Maximus; while the valley which reached from the 
Velabrum to the Forum Romanum was traversed 
by two of the most frequented streets of Rome—the 
Vicus Jugarius, leading from the Forum Olitorium 
and skirting the Capitoline Hill, and the Vicus Tuscus 
towards the Palatine, where the principal shops of all 
kinds were situated. The Capitoline was divided into 
two peaks, towards the north-east and south-west, in 
the depression between which was the Lucus Asjli ; 
one of these summits was called the Arx, the other, 
on which stood the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, 
the Capitolium; but the respective position of these 
is still a matter of doubt, though perhaps it is more 
probable that the Capitolium occupied the southern, 
the Arx the northern, summit, and this view will be 
adopted here. It was ascended by three approaches— 
a flight of steps, called the Centum Gradus, on the side 
towards the river, where also was the precipice of the 
Tarpeian Rock ; a passage which led from the Forum 
to the Lucus Asyli; and, on the same side, the most 
important of all, the Clivus Capitolinus, which formed 
a continuation of the Via Sacra, and by which 
triumphal processions ascended to the temple of 
Jupiter. This last was a carriage-road, and each 
of the seven hills was provided with a similar Clivus, 
The Palatine was the most central, and in some 








».} TOPOGRAPHY OF ROME. 109 


respects the most important of the hills. On it stood 
the earliest city, which from its shape was called 
Roma Quadrata, and in the time of the emperors it 
was the site of the imperial residence. Here also 
stood the temple of Apollo, built by Augustus to com- 
memorate his victory at Actium ; in connection with it 
was a portico which contained the famous Palatine 
library. From the north-east side of the Palatine alow 
spur, the Velia, projected across the valley to the Esqui- 
line ; this will have to be noticed hereafter in connection 
with the Via Sacra. The Aventine was associated with 
the earliest Roman legends; at its foot was an altar of 
Evander, in the neighbourhood of which the cave of 
Cacus was shown; and on the summit was a spot 
called Remuria, in memory of the auspices taken by 
Remus. During the period of the Republic it was 
principally inhabited by plebeians. 

3. The Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, and 
Czlian Hills,—Of the four remaining hills of 
Rome, the Mons Ceelius stood apart by itself towards 
the south, while the others formed a separate group, 
being connected together on the outer side. The 
Ceelian, though the largest of all the hills, was not 
occupied by any building of first-rate importance ; 
but at its foot, in the interval between it and the 
Palatine and Esquiline hills, the Flavian amphitheatre, 
better known as the Colosséum, was erected by 
Vespasian. The three other heights were in reality 
four, according to the configuration of the ground, 
and had originally four distinct names; for the area, 
which was afterwards known as the Esquiline, was 
previously called the Cespian and Oppian hills, the 
Oppian being the larger and lying towards the south. 
The three valleys that separate these four hills—the 
Quirinal, Viminal, Cespian, and Oppian—from one 
another, radiate from a point to the northward of the 
Forum, where the Quirinal and Oppian approach one 
another somewhat closely. The depression, which 1s 
formed at the place where they all converge, was 














110 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP, 


occupied by the Subira, the lowest and most crowded 
district in the city ; and, just as we frequently find in 
modern cities that the poorest and the wealthiest 
quarters lie close together, so here, in close proximity 
to the Subura, on the extremity of the Esquiline, stood 
the Carine, the most fashionable locality in Rome. 
On the Esquiline was the house of Mezecenas, where 
Horace was a frequent visitor, and Virgil and Pro- 
pertius lived in the same neighbourhood ; and on the 
eastern slope of the hills, outside the Agger of Servius 
‘Tullius, were the gardens which Meecenas laid out as 
a place of recreation for the Roman people. The site 
of these was previously a burying-place for paupers, to 
which Horace describes Canidia as resorting to perform 
her incantations. The Viminal was a hill of inconsider- 
able size, and was principally inhabited by the poorer 
classes ; in the valley between it and the Cespian Hill 
ran a street called the Vicus Patritius. Lastly, the 
Quirinal Hill, which faced the Capitoline, possessed an 
ancient temple of Quirinus, from which it took its 
name. ‘The Mons Pincius, which lay without the city, 
was known for its gardens, the most famous of which 
were those of Lucullus. The Horti Sallustiani lay in 
the valley between the Quirinal and the Pincian. 

4. The Forum Romanum and Via Sacra.— 
We have now to speak of the Roman Forum, the chief 
centre of the business and political life of the city. 
This was situated in the valley to the north of the 
Palatine, and extended from the foot of the Capitol to 
the point where the Velia begins to rise (p. 109). It 
was an oblong area, though wider at the western than 
the eastern end, about 700 feet long by (on an average) 
250 broad, and was paved with stone throughout. 
Along the southern side ran a row of shops and booths, 
the Tabernz Veteres, and on the opposite side a 
similar row, the Tabernze Nove ; the shops stood side 
by side in porticoes, with balconies above, from which 
spectacles in the inner area could be watched. At 
first the shops were devoted to common trades, such as 














ba | TOPOGRAPHY OF ROME. III 


butchers, and thus in the story of Virginia we hear of 
the father snatching up a butcher’s knife from one of 
them to kill his daughter ; but later on these were 
replaced by silversmiths’ shops. These features of 
the Forum must have remained unchanged on the 
whole throughout its history, and the narrowness of 
its limits must have testified in later times to the 
small beginnings of Rome; but the outer area 
gradually ‘assumed a very different aspect, as it was 
adorned with numerous temples and extensive law- 
courts, called basilicas. In the inner space the most 
important portion was the Comitium, or meeting- 
place of the patricians, an uncovered and slightly 
elevated enclosure in the north-west corner, between 
which and the rest of the Forum at one point stood the 
famous Rostra or platform for speaking, adorned 
with the beaks of ships taken from the people of 
Antium. This platform faced both ways, and con- 
sequently it was a sign of a change in the tendency 
of politics when the speaker, from having been 
accustomed to face the Patres in the Comitium, 
turned to address the Plebs in the Forum. In the 
middle of the Forum was the site of the Lacus 
Curtius, which was afterwards drained and filled up. 
At the eastern end was the Puteal Libonis, a spot 
which had been consecrated after being struck by 
lightning, and then covered over so as to resemble a 
well, whence the name. This erection was repaired 
by the tribune Scribonius Libo, who transferred 
thither the Tribunal of the Preetor, whence it became 
a much-frequented place. To turn now to the outer 
area—under the Capitol, besides several temples, stood 
the Miliarium Aureum, a tall milestone of bronze gilt, 
erected by Augustus as a starting-point for the roads 
throughout Italy ; and further to the north, at the angle 
of the hill, was the Mamertine prison, or Robur 
Tullianum, a subterranean dungeon, which may still 
be seen. In the neighbourhood of this also was the 
Gemoniz, a set of steps on the hill-side, where the 
16* 











112 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP, 


bodies of malefactors were thrown down. On the 
north side of the Forum, beyond the Via Sacra, stood 
the Basilica Portia, the ‘first building of its kind, erected 
by Cato the Censor ; the Curia Hostilia, which formed 
the meeting-place of the Senate; and the Basilica 
Paulli. In front of the last were three statues of 
Janus, and as this neighbourhood was the resort of the 
money-lenders, the name Janus was used to describe 
their quarter. On the south side we need only notice 
the circular temple of Vesta, which was the resort and 
burial-place of the Vestal Virgins. The Via Sacra, the 
highway of sacred and triumphal processions, started 
from the Carine on the Esquiline, and crossing the 
valley, ascended the slope of the Velia, on the highest 
point of which the arch of Titus was erected to com- 
memorate the capture of Jerusalem. Descending 
again to the Forum, it seems to have divided into two 
roads,one on the northern and one on the southern side, 
behind the rows of shops, after which it ascended 
diagonally to the Capitol by the Clivus Capitolinus. 
Walls and Gates of Rome.—The seven 
hills of Rome were surrounded by a rampart, which 
was called the Walls of Servius Tullius. By the time 
of the Empire these had fallen into decay, but the wall 
that now exists, embracing a considerably larger area, 
was not built till the reign of Aurelian. The walls of 
Servius Tullius were extended beyond the Tiber, so 
as to include the summit of the Janiculan; and the 
bridge of which we most frequently hear as connecting 
the two regions, was a wooden bridge built on piles, 
and called the Sublician ; the position of this seems to 
have been somewhere at the foot of the Aventine. Of 
the gates of Rome, three deserve especial notice as 
the most important, the Collina, Capéna, and Car- 
mentalis. The Porta Collina was the northern gate, 
through which the Via Salaria issued ¢p. 99); to-the 
east of it, outside the walls, lay the Praetorian camp, 
which was built for the Guard in the reign of Tiberius. 
To the south of the city was the Porta Capena at the 

















x) SOUTHERN ITALY. 113 


foot of the Celian, to which Juvenal applies the 
epithet “ madida,” because of an aqueduct that passed 
over it. From it issued the Latin and Appian Ways, 
and just outside it lay the Vallis Egerie. The 
Carmental gate lay between the foot of the Capitol 
and the river, and was the starting-point of the Vicus 
Jugarius. The Via Flaminia issued from the Porta 
Ratumena on the north side of the Capitol, and 
passing through the Campus Martius, where it was 
called Via Lata, proceeded due north, until it crossed 
the Tiber by the Milvian bridge, two miles from Rome. 

6. Southern Italy.—Southern Italy included the 
districts of Apulia, Calabria, Lucania, and the country 
of the Brutti. Its characteristics were its warmer 
climate, its more indented coast, and the position of 
the level ground on the eastern instead of the western 
side, as it is in Central Italy. At the meeting point 
of Samnium, Apulia, and Calabria, where rises the 
lofty volcanic cone of the Mons Vultur, the chain of the 
Apennines divides, the main line pursuing its course 
towards the toe of Italy, while an inferior branch de- 
scends towards the heel. The coast was known to the 
Greeks as Magna Grecia, on account of the number and 
early prosperity of the Greek colonies that were estab- 
lished there. Of these, the Achzean cities of Sybaris 
and Croton, the Spartan colony of Turentum, and the 
Locrian town of Locri, were founded about 700 B.C. 
The establishment of these was facilitated by the short- 
ness of the passage from the neighbouring shores of 
Greece, the distance between Corcyra and the Iapygian 
promontory being not much more than sixty miles. 

7. Apulia and Calabria.— The portion of 
southern Italy that lay between the Apennines and 
the Adriatic, and reached from the confines of the 
Frentani to the beginning of the heel of Italy, was 
called Apulia. The southern portion of this had a 
stony soil, almost devoid of streams; but the 
northern was an extensive and extremely fertile 
plain, excellently adapted for the growth of corn ; 











114 . CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [cuar. 


and for this reason Hannibal, during his campaign 
in Italy, made it his granary and the winter quarters 
of his army. ‘This was watered by numerous rivers, 
the largest and southernmost of which was the 
impetuous stream of the Aufidus. Near the head- 
waters. of this stood Venusia, the birthplace of 
Horace, with the fountain of Bandusia in its neigh- 
bourhood, and the Mons Vultur rising above it; all 
these objects are celebrated in the poet’s writings. He 
describes Venusia as situated on the frontier of 
Apulia and Lucania, saying of himself that he was 


‘** Lucanus an Apulus anceps, 
Nam Venusinus arat finem sub utrumque colonus.” 


Further down the stream were Canusium and the 
disastrous battle-eld of Canne; and at no great 
distance to the north of Venusia lay Asctlum, the 
scene of another great defeat of the Romans by 
Pyrrhus. Further to the north was the important 
town of Luceria.. The Appian Way, which we have 
already traced through Latium, Campania, and 
Samnium, passed through this country on its way 
to Tarentum and Brundusium. This was the inland 
route, but it was possible also to skirt the coast from 
Barium onwards, as Horace did in his “ /ter ad Brun- 
dustum.” The spur of Italy, which was formed by 
the promontory of Garganus, was an isolated mountain 
district clothed with dense forests, and from its 
position exposed to the winds from both sides. The 
Matinum Litus on its southern coast was famous for 
its honey. ‘The heel-piece of Italy was inhabited by 
two tribes, the Calabri on the northern, the Salentini 
on the southern coast ; but by the Romans the whole 
district was known as Calabria, by the Greeks as 
Messapia or Iapygia. It wasa low-lying country, with 
slight undulations, for the spur of the Apennines 
which descends in this direction does not penetrate 
to the Iapygian promontory. Within it were situated 
two towns of great importance—Briundusium on the 














x] SOUTHERN ITALY. 115 


side facing Greece, which was the place of embarka- 
tion for Dyrrhachium and the Via Egnatia; and 
Tarentum, at the head of the bay of the same name, 
which at one time was the most powerful town of 
Magna Grecia, and was always a great commercial 
city from its admirable port, and the excellence of 
its products in wine, oil, wool, and the purple dye. 

8. Lucania and the Bruttii.—Lucania occupied 
the angle formed by the Tarentinus Sinus and the 
Mare Inferum, and was bounded on the north by 
Campania, Samnium, and Apulia. It was traversed 
throughout its whole extent by the Apennines, though 
on the eastern side a considerable space is left between 
these and the sea. Its chief towns lay on the sea- 
coast, and these were all of Greek origin. On the 
west side lay Posidonia or Pzestum, in the next bay 
after that of Naples, which was famed in ancient times 
for its roses, and is now known for the remains of its 
three fine temples; Eléa or Velia, the home of the 
Eleatic school of. philosophy; and Laus: on the 
eastern, Sybaris on the Crathis, the luxury of which 
has passed into a by-word; after the destruction of 
which city by the people of Croton, the neighbouring 
Thurii was founded by Athenian colonists, among 
whom was the historian Herodotus ; Heracleia, where 
the Romans received their first defeat from Pyrrhus ; 
and Metapontum. The district which formed the toe 
of Italy was inhabited by the Bruttii. This commences 
at the point where the Bay of Tarentum and the Mare 
Inferum approach most closely to one another, being 
about thirty miles apart. Lower down again, below the 
promontory of Lacinium, which projects considerably 
towards the east, near the town of Croton, a still nar- 
rower isthmus, seventeen miles wide, is formed between 
the gulfs of Trina and Scylletium ; and here the 
Apennines, which elsewhere almost fill up the country, 
are broken through, so that the ground is low between 
the two seas. The mountain district to the south of 
this was called Sila, and was famed for its extensive 











116 ' CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


forests. Here on the east coast were Caulon and 
Locri Epizephyrii, which received its distinctive appel- 
lation from the promontory of Zephyrium, further to 
the south, on which the original city was built. The 
entire peninsula terminated in the headland of 
Leucopetra, and was separated from Sicily by the 
Fretum Siculum (Straits of Messina), on which stood 
the town of Rhegium. Between this place and 
Messana on the Sicilian shore was the famous whirlpool 
of Charybdis, a strong eddy in the strait, formed by the 
meeting of different currents. At the northern entrance 
of the strait the rock of Scylla rose on the Italian coast. 

9. Sicily: General Description.—The Island 
of Sicily, from its triangular shape, is one of the com- 
pletest countries of Europe, and its position between 
the Carthaginian territory and Italy, and between the 
eastern and western bays of the Mediterranean, has 
caused it, both in ancient and modern times, to be a 
great meeting-place of different races. The course 
of ancient history was greatly determined by events 
that happened there: had the Carthaginians not been 
defeated by Gelo at Himéra (p. 48), they might have 
conquered Italy, and changed the face of Europe; 
had the Athenians won at Syracuse, a conflict must 
have ensued between them and Carthage, which might 
seriously have modified Roman history. Similarly in 
modern times, a history of Sicily would introduce on 
the stage in turn all the nations that inhabit the shores 
of the Mediterranean. The three angles of this triangle 
are formed by the promontories of Pelérum in the 
north-east, Pachynus in the south, and Libybeeum in 
the west; the last of these is only eighty miles distant 
from Cape Bon. ‘The mountains of Sicily are a con- 
tinuation of those of Italy, and, starting from the straits 
of Messina, run westwards through the island at no 
great distance from the northern coast; about the 
middle of their course another chain runs off from 
them at right angles, and descends towards the southern 
promontory. But the peculiarity which we have so 




















x.] SICILY. 117 


often noticed in the western countries of Italy, that 
the mountain ranges are interfered with by a system 
of volcanoes, is here still more prominent ; for by far 
the most important mountain in Sicily is tna, the 
height of which is nearly 11,000 feet, and its cir- 
cumference ninety miles at its base. The con- 
necting link between it and the Italian volcanoes 
was formed by the Zoliz Insule (Lipari Islands), 
where A¢olus, the king of the winds, was supposed to 
hold his court. The northernmost of these, Strongyle 
(Stromboli), was and is in a permanent state of eruption. 
The rivers, as might be expected in an island of 
moderate size, are of no great magnitude, the largest 
being the Symeethus, which drains the region west of 
Aétna, and flows towards the east, and the Himéra 
and Halycus, which rise in the centre of the country, 
and enter the western sea. But those of most fame 
are at the same time amongst the smallest in size, 
viz., the Acis, which flows through the lava of A°tna, 
and is associated with the story of Polyphemus and 
Galatea ; the Anapus near Syracuse, which is insepar- 
ably connected with the pastoral poetry of Theocritus ; 
and the Asinarus towards the south, the scene of the 
final catastrophe of the disastrous Athenian expedition. 
The soil of Sicily was remarkably fertile, so that, like 
fégypt and the province of Africa, it was considered 
one of the granaries of Rome. 

10. Cities of Sicily.—The original inhabitants 
of Sicily were two tribes, the Sicanians in the west, 
and the Sicels in the east, both of whom belonged to 
the same Greeco-Italian stock as the Greeks themselves. 
The consequence of this was, that when that people 
settled among them, the native and imported races 
easily intermingled (see General Remarks, p. 17) ; 
and this explains the extreme populousness of the 
Greek towns, which cannot be accounted for by the 
natural increase of the colonists alone. ‘The Greeks 
of Sicily were called Sicelidtes by way of distinction. 
They were not, however, the earliest settlers, for there 








118 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


were already Phcenician stations established in the 
west of the island, of which Panormus (Palermo), in 

a fine bay on the northern coast, was the most 
important. The great Carthaginian settlement of 
Lilybeum, on the promontory of the same name, 
which played so prominent a part in the first Punic 
War, was not founded until after 400 B.c. Off the 
coast between that place and Drepanum, also a Car- 
thaginian stronghold, lay the A‘gates Islands, where 
Lutatius Catulus gained his great naval victory over 
that power (B.c. 241). Behind Drepanum rose Mount 
Eryx, on the summit of which was a famous temple of 
Venus. To turn now to the Greek cities: all the 
earliest of these, as we might expect, were settled on 
the east coast, which was nearest to Greece, and it was 
only gradually that they felt their way round the western 
shores of the island. On the Fretum Siculum lay 
Zancle, afterwards called Messana, and further to the 
south, Naxos, the earliest of all the colonies, Catana, 
and Leontini: all these were Chalcidic cities, and the 
rivalry between these and the other colonies, which 
were mostly of Doric ongin, materially affected their 
subsequent history. ‘Then came Megara Hyblea, the 
hills in the neighbourhood of which were famed for 
their honey, and Syracuse; and on the western coast 
Camarina, Gela, Agrigentum, and Selinus. Towards 
the north there was only one considerable Greek city, 
Himéra; for Segesta, which lay to the west of 
Panormus, though subsequently Hellenized, had origi- 
nally a barbarian population. Exactly in the centre 
of the island, on a table-mountain with precipitous 
sides, stood Henna, the valleys in the neighbourhood 
of which were famous for their flowers, and were the 
scene of the rape of Proserpine. 

11. Syracuse.—It remains to describe the topo- 
graphy of Syracuse, by far the most important place 
in Sicily. In the neighbourhood of that city three 
promontories project eastwards into the sea—the 
northernmost Thapsus, a low-lying peninsula— 7iaf- 











x] SYRACUSE : CORSICA, SARDINIA. 119 


sum jacentem” Virgil calls it—joined to the mainland 
by a spit of sand ; the next Achradina, a broad rocky 
mass of no great elevation ; the southernmost Plem- 
myrium, a somewhat similar piece of land. Between 
the two latter lay a beautiful oval piece of water, the 
Great Harbour, in front of which the Island of Ortygia 
projected from the northern side. This island was 
about a mile in length, separated from the land by a 
narrow strait, and containing a remarkable fountain, 
which spread out into a basin—that of Arethusa. 
Between Ortygia and Achradina a small inlet, running 
in from the open sea, formed the Lesser Habour. Into 
the innermost part of the Great Harbour the clear 
stream of the Anapus flowed from the interior through 
a broad marshy valley. On the northern side of 
the valley was a broad table of land, bordered 
both on the north and south by low precipices; this 
started from Achradina as its base, though separated 
from that piece of ground by a slight depression, and 
as it projected towards the interior became higher and 
narrower, until about three-and-a-half miles trom the 
sea the two sides met at an acute angle. ‘The table 
of land was called Epipole, or “The Heights,” while 
the elevated spot which formed the apex of the triangle 
was named Euryélus. The original city of Syracuse, like 
the modern one, occupied only the island of Ortygia ; 
but by the time of the Athenian expedition it had 
spread over part of Achradina, and there was a suburb 
also on the nearer part of Epipdlz, named Temenitis. 
This last was afterwards included, together with the 
sloping ground towards the harbour, in the quarter 
called Neapolis ; and a certain portion of the northern 
side of Epipole was built over, and called Tycha. 
Ultimately the whole of Epipdlze was enclosed by a wall. 

12. Corsica and Sardinia.—Of the two large 
islands which lie to the west of Italy little need be 
said, for they had but little influence on ancient history. 
The northernmost of these, Corsica, was smaller and 
more mountainous than Sardinia, which possessed 
11 








120 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP, 


considerable plains and afforded abundance of corn. 
In Corsica the place of chief importance was Aleria, 
or Alalia, on the middle of the east coast, originally a 
Greek settlement, but afterwards increased by Sulla 
with a colony of Roman citizens. Sardinia was for a 
long time occupied by the Carthaginians, who, how- 
ever, were forced to retire from thence in the interval 
between the First and Second Punic Wars. Its capital, 
Caralis (Cagliari), was situated in the south of the 
island. 


CHAPTER: XL 
THE OUTLYING COUNTRIES OF EUROPE. 


1. Hispania or Iberia.—Spain, from its broad 
surface, has been compared to a bull’s hide, the neck- 
piece being formed by the isthmus that joins it to 
France. From its outlying position relatively to the 
rest of Europe, and the massive conformation of its 
surface, it also resembles one of the bastions that 
stand out from the angles of a fortified city. Its 
geography is at once marked and simple. Its boun- 
daries are the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, and the 
Pyrenees. Its mountains, instead of running south- 
ward through the country, as in Italy and Greece, 
form a succession of parallel ranges, the general 
direction of which is from east to west. Between 
these lie extensive plains, increasing in elevation to- 
wards the centre of the country, which is a very lofty 
table-land. These plains are drained by a number of 
large rivers, only one of which, the Ibérus (Ebro), 
reaches the Mediterranean, while the others flow into 
the Atlantic, viz., the Durius (Douro), Tagus, Anas 
(Guadiana), and Betis (Guadalquiver). From this it 
will be seen that the watershed of the peninsula is 
much nearer to the eastern than the western coast. 
From Africa it was divided by the Fretum Gaditanum 
(Straits of Gibraltar), where stood the two lofty rocks 
which are known as the Pillars of Hercules (see p. 11). 

















XI.] SPAIN, I2I 


The whole country was divided by the Romans, at first 
into Hispania Citerior and Ulterior, the Iberus being 
the limit of the two; and afterwards into the three 
provinces of Tarraconensis, Lusitania, and Beetica ; 
of which Lusitania corresponds to the country of 
Portugal, Bzetica to the province of Andalusia, while 
the rest was comprehended by Tarraconensis. 

2. Spanish Tribes and Cities.—The position of 
the principal native tribes can best be described by the 
rivers in the neighbourhood of which they lay. About 
the upper course of the Durius the Vaccaei were settled ; 
about that of the Tagus the Carpetani, with Tolétum 
(Toledo) for their capital ; about that of the Anas the 
Oretani, while the Turdetani lived about the mouth of 
the Betis. On the great watershed, and in its neigh- 
bourhood, lay the Celtibéri, in the north of whose 
territory was Numantia, famous for its siege and cap- 
ture by Scipio Africanus (B.c. 134). To the east of 
the Iberus lay the Ilergétes in the neighbourhood of 
that river, whose chief city was Ilerda, the Lacetani 
between them and the Pyrenees, and the Ausetani 
between them again and the sea; these tribes became 
familiar to the Romans in the course of the Punic 
wars. Towards the centre of the north coast were 
the Cantabri and Astires. The principal cities were 
(beginning from the north-east and following the coast) 
Tarraco (Tarragona) on the hither side of the Iberus, 
and Intibili on the further side; southwards of these 
Saguntum, and opposite the African coast Carthago 
Nova (Cartagena), in the recesses of one of the finest 
harbours in Europe. Beyond the Straits was the 
ancient Phoenician colony of Gades (Cadiz), standing 
at the end of an island which projected in front of its 
harbour in a position recalling that of Syracuse. Some- 
where in this neighbourhood, towards the mouth of 
the Beetis, must have been the position of Tartessus. 
Following up that river we come first to Hispilis 
(Seville), then to Cordttba (Cordova), and lastly to 
Illiturgis. The final establishment of the Roman 











122 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


dominion in the country is marked by the names of 
a number of colonies, the principal of which were 
Czesar Augusta (Zaragoza) on the Iberus in the north- 
east, Emerita Augusta (Merida) on the Anas in the 
south-west, and Asturica Augusta (Astorga) and Lucus 
Augusti (Lugo) in the north-west. In the three last- 
named towns there are extensive remains of walls 
or public buildings dating from Roman times. The 
Balearic Islands, which lay off the east coast, were 
famous for their slingers. 

3. Gallia.—The boundaries of Gaul on three sides 
were the Ocean, the Pyrenees, and the Mediterranean ; 
on the eastern side it was separated from Italy by the 
Alps, from Helvetia by the Jura, and from Germany 
by the Rhine ; though, as mountains are more real 
boundaries than rivers, (see General Remarks, p. 18), 
the Mons Voségus (Vosges), along the western side of 
the upper course of that river, would form the more 
natural limit. The passes of the Alps, by which it 
could be entered from Italy, have already been given 
(p. 94); those through the Pyrenees from the side 
of Spain, were at the eastern and western extremities 
of the chain, near where it abuts on the two seas. 
Like Spain, it was a land of great rivers, and its geo- 
graphy is best determined by their watersheds. The one 
which divides the northern from the southern part of the 
countryruns westward from the southern extremity of the 
Vosges, separating the head-waters of the Arar (Sadne), 
which flows southward and joins the Rhodanus 
(Rhone) at Lugdiinum (Lyons), from those that flow 
northward—the Mosella (Moselle) into the Rhenus 
(Rhine), and the Mosa (Meuse) and Sequana 
(Seine) into the Ocean. On the other hand, the 
watershed of southern Gaul, starting from the western 
extremity of this, runs southward, as the Mons Cevenna 
(Cevennes) on the west bank of the Arar and Rhoda- 
nus, and reaches almost to the foot of the Pyrenees, 
separating those rivers from the Liger (Loire) and 
Garumna (Garonne), with their tributaries. The only 








xh] GAUL. 123 


one of these streams that flows into the Mediterranean, 
the Rhone, rises in Helvetia near the sources of the 
Rhine, and after being joined by the Arar, receives 
on its eastern side two other rivers, which flow from 
the Alps, the Isara (Istre) and Druentia (Durance). 

4. Provinces, Tribes, and Cities of Gaul. 
—The Romans divided Gaul into four provinces— 
Belgica in the north-east, Lugdunensis in the centre, 
reaching from Helvetia (Switzerland) as far as the 
extreme west of Armorica (Brittany), and extending 
as far south as Lugdiinun, its capital city ; Aquitania 
in the south-west ; and Narbonensis in the south-east, 
between the Cevennes, the Alps, and the Mediter- 
ranean. The last-named district was called in Caesar’s 
time the Provincia, and before that time Braccata, 
because the inhabitants wore breeches; while the 
remaining area was called Comata, from the long hair 
of its occupants. To distinguish it from the Gallic 
territory of North Italy, the whole country was called 
Gallia Transalpina. This comprised the modern 
territories of France, Belgium, and part of Holland. 
In noticing the principal tribes, we shall observe that 
the name of a fribe has not unfrequently passed into 
that of a modern city, which was originally its head- 
quarters (so Augusta Taurinorum is now Turin). 
About the mouths of the Rhine and Meuse lay the 
Batavi, and along the Rhine, between the Meuse and 
Moselle, the Ubii. South of this tribe was a wide 
extent of forest land, the Arduenna Silva (Ardennes). 
About the middle course of the Moselle lay the 
Treviri (Tréves), and higher up the Mediomatrici, with 
the town of Divodirum (Metz): at the head-waters 
of that stream and the Meuse, the Leuci, and at those 
of the Seine the Lingones (Langres). West of the 
Lingones, between the Seine and Loire, were the 
Senones. Further south, on the east of the Sadne 
lay the Sequani, on the west the A‘dui; and south of 
these, beyond the upper stream of the Loire, the 
Arverni (Auvergne). Lastly, the country to the south- 















124 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


east of Lyons was occupied by the Allobroges, and 
that between the Isara and Druentia by the Vocontii. 
The principal towns in the centre of the country were 
Avaricum (Bourges) and Genabum (Orleans), on the 
Loire about the middle of its course, and Lutetia 
(Paris), the chief city of the Paristi, on the Seine. Of 
the scenes of Czsar’s two great victories, Alesia, 
where Vercingetorix was captured, was in the centre 
of the country near the meeting of the two watersheds, 
while Uxellodinum, where the final struggle took 
place, was in Aquitania, on one of the tributaries of 
the Garonne. The most highly civilised province was 
Narbonensis, and the evidence of this remains in the 
numerous specimens of Roman architecture which are 
preserved in that country. A short distance to the east 
of the mouths of the Rhone stood Massilia (Marseilles), 
originally a Phoczean colony, which, in consequence of 
its fine harbour, has been throughout its long history 
the great port of the country on the Mediterranean. 
s, Britannia.—Virgil speaks of the Britanni as 
“ penitus toto divisos orbe,” and the country of that 
remote people need not delay us long. Its two prin- 
cipal rivers, the Tamésis (Thames) and Sabrina 
(Severn), flow respectively into the eastern and western 
sea. Its mountains lie in the north and west of the 
country, and the low hills that intersect it elsewhere 
were not such as seriously to impede an invading force. 
Indeed in ancient times, as now, the sea was its safe- 
guard, owing to the difficulty of landing, and the 
danger of the return being cut off in case of defeat. 
In order to prevent incursions from the tribes further 
north, the Emperor Adrian constructed a massive wall 
from the Solway Firth to the eastern coast; and 
Antoninus Pius drew a rampart across at a still more 
advanced point between the Firths of Clyde and 
Forth, where Agricola had before established a line of 
forts. To the north of this was the district called 
Caledonia. Two islands lay close to the coast at 
different points, separated by narrow straits, viz., Mona 








xI.] BRITAIN, GERMANY. 125 


(Isle of Anglesea) and Vectis (Isle of Wight). But the 
‘most famous islands in that neighbourhood in ancient 
times were the Cassiterides (Scilly Islands), off the 
west coast of Cornwall, to which the Phcenician 
traders resorted for the tin that was found on the 
mainland. ‘The principal tribes were the Damnonii 
in Devon and Cornwall; the Belgz, reaching from 
Hampshire to the Bristol Channel, with Venta 
Belgarum (Winchester) for their capital ; the Cantii in 
Kent, with the port of Rutupize (Richborough) on 
their east coast, famous for its oysters, and the chief 
landing-place in that quarter; the Trinobantes in 
Essex ; the Icéni in Norfolk and Suffolk ; the Siltres 
in South Wales ; and the Brigantes in the north of the 
country, as far as Adrian’s wall. The two principal 
towns were Eboracum (York) in the north, and Lon- 
dinium (London) in the south. The evidence of 
Roman occupation is found in the numerous names of 
towns which end in chester and cester, 1.e., “ castra,” as 
Winchester, Gloucester, &c. What place is meant by 
the Thule of the Romans we do not know ; but some 
persons have identified it with Iceland, some with one 
of the Shetlands, and others with Norway. 

6. Germania.—In speaking of ancient Germany, 
we must carefully distinguish between the country of 
Germania, which nearly corresponds to the territory 
occupied by the modern Germans, and the Germanie, 
or two provinces created by Augustus on the left or 
western bank of the Rhine. These were called Ger- 
mania Superior and Inferior, according to their position 
along the course of the stream, so that the upper pro- 
vince was that which lay the further to the south. 
This extended from Basilia (Bale) to Mogontiacum 
(Mayence), and was enclosed between the Rhine and 
the Vosges Mountains ; while the lower province 
reached from that point to the sea on the coasts of the 
Batavi, its most important and most central city being 
Colonia Agrippinensis (Cologne). About half-way 
between that place and the sea lay Castra Vetera, the 











126 CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. 


principal military station on the Lower Rhine, and 
near the mouth of that river, Lugdinum Batavorum 
(Leyden). ‘The territory of these provinces, it will be 
seen, was taken out of Gaul, though the population 
was for the most part German. The country of 
Germania lay between the Rhine and the Vistula, and 
between the Baltic and the Danube. Almost all the 
rivers of the area thus enclosed flowed northward, 
the principal being the Visurgis (Weser), Albis (Elbe), 
and Viadus (Oder). The mountains which lay in the 
southern portion are shown to have been densely 
wooded by the term Silva which is frequently applied 
to them: the name Hercynia Silva was vaguely used 
to designate them all. The barbarous tribes by whom 
Germany was peopled offered a stubborn resistance 
to the Roman arms, and the names of several of them 
became famous at a later time, when they in their 
turn invaded Italy. Those most frequently mentioned 
are the following. To the north of the Danube, the 
Quadi towards the east, the Marcomanni in the centre, 
and the Alemanni in the west towards the Black 
Forest ; northward of whom, towards the interior of 
the country, were the Chatti and Cherusci; of the 
latter of these the famous Arminius was a chieftain. 
Along the right bank of the Rhine below Mogontiacum 
the Ubii, Sicambri, Tenctéri, and Bructéri; and on 
the shores of the German Ocean the Frisii in modern 
Holland and Friesland, and the Chauci. To the west 
of the lower course of the Albis the Langobardi; 
between that river and the Baltic the Saxénes and Angli, 
and in the Cimbric peninsula (Jutland) the Cimbri. 
Many of these tribes were comprehended under the 
general name of Suevi, though its application varied 
at different periods. The north of Germany was known 
to the Greeks at an early date through the amber (elec- 
trum) which was found on the shores of the Baltic, and 
brought southwards by traders to the Mediterranean. 
7. The Provinces bordering on the Danube. 
—The country that lay to the south of the upper 















XI] PROVINCES ALONG THE DANUBE. 127 


waters of the Danube was called Vindelicia, and was 
for the most part a level district ; the Alpine region 
between this and Italy, bounded on the west by the 
country of the Helvetii, was called Rhetia (Tyrol 
and the Grisons) ; its principal city was Curia Rheet- 
orum (Chur). ‘To the east of these two provinces, 
and separated from them by the A‘nus (Inn), lay 
Noricum, which was famed for the iron and steel 
which were obtained from its extensive mines. Some 
distance further to the east the Danube, which hitherto 
has flowed generally eastward, makes a sudden bend 
to the south, after which it resumes its original 
direction. Between Noricum and this long southward 
reach lay Pannonia, the westward part of which was 
called Upper, the eastward Lower Pannonia. ‘The 
greater part of this area was a plain, and it was 
watered in its southern part by two important rivers, 
the Dravus (Drave) and Savus (Save), both of which 
flowed into the Danube. Its principal towns were 
Vindobona (Vienna) on the Danube, near the frontier 
of Noricum, Petovio on the Drave in_ Upper 
Pannonia, the military headquarters of the Romans, 
and Sirmium on the Save in Lower Pannonia, which 
ultimately became the most important place in the 
country. The territory that lay between Pannonia 
and the Euxine, and between the Danube and the 
Hemus and Dinaric Alps, corresponding to the 
modern Servia and Bulgaria, formed the two provinces 
of Mcesia Superior and Inferior, the titles being given 
according to their position on the course of the stream, 
as was also the case with those that lay about the Nile 
and Rhine. The vast plains to the north of the 
Danube, which now form the Danubian principalities 
of Wallachia and Moldavia, were the ancient Dacia ; 
this was not conquered by the Romans until the time 
of Trajan, who established numerous colonies in the 
country. These have left behind them a permanent 
influence in the Wallachian language, which is as 
nies a descendant of Latin as French and Italian. 












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figures of speech; hints on style, thought, criticism, and gram- 
matical construction. 

Spelling-exercises are also appended, introducing “ Words 
difficult to spell,” with both phonic and what are usually known 
as orthographic principles formulated into rules. 


Appletons’ Fifth Reader. 12mo. 471 pages. 

This Reader is the one to which the editors have given their 
choicest efforts. The “Preparation Notes” are more advanced 
than those of the preceding Reader. Literary history and criti- 
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and inquiry in the mind of the young. Extracts are given from 
Webster, Jefferson, Irving, Audubon, Cooper, Emerson, Wirt, 
and Washington, along with others from De Quincey, Goethe, 
Victor Hugo, Byron, Shelley, Milton, Coleridge, and Shake- 
speare ; and with these is a vast amount of valuable informa- 
tion of every kind. Professor Bailey’s lessons in elocution are 
fuller than in preceding volumes, and can probably not be 
equaled in the language for perspicuous brevity and complete- 
ness. The collection of “ Unusual and Difficult Words” at the 
close comprises fifty-four lists of words which should always be 
kept in mind by the student. 


















































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STUDENTS’ READERS. 





A Geographical Reader. A Collection of Geographical 
Descriptions and Narrations, from the best Writers in Eng- 
lish Literature. Classified and arranged to meet the wants 
of Geographical Students, and the higher grades of reading 
classes. By James Jononnot, author of “ Principles and 
Practice of Teaching.” 12mo. Cloth. 418 pages. 


‘Mr. Johonnot has made a good book, which, if judiciously used, 
will stop the immense waste of time now spent in most schools in the 
study of geography to little purpose. The volume has a good number 
of appropriate iJlustrations, and is printed and bound in almost fault- 
less style and taste.” —JVational Journal of Education. 


Glimpses of the Animate World: Science and Lit- 
erature of Natural History, for School or Home. 
Compiled and edited by James JOHONNOT. 12mo, Cloth. 
414 pages. 

“The natural turn that children have for the country, and for bires 
and beasts, wild and tame, is taken advantage of very wisely by Mr. 
Johonnot, who has had experience in teaching and in making echoo!- 
books. His selections are generally excellent. Articles by renowned 
naturalists, and interesting papers by men who, if not renowned, can 
put things pointedly, alternate with serious and humorous verse. 

The Popular Science Monthly’ has furnished much material. The 

‘ Atlantic’ and the works of John Burroughs are contributors also. 

There are illustrations, and the compiler has some sensible advice to 

offer teachers in-regard to the way in which to interest young people 

in matters relating to nature.”—lew York Times. 


An Historical Reader, for Classes in Academies, High- 
Schools, and Grammar-Schools. By Henry E. SHEPHERD, 
M.A. 12mo. Cloth. 424 pages. 


“This book is one of the most important text-books issued within 
our recollection. The preface is a powerful attack upon the common 
method of teaching history by means of compendiums and abridg- 
ments. Professor Shepherd has ‘long advocated the beginning of 
history-teaching by the use of graphic and lively sketches of those 
illustrious characters around whom the historic interest of each age 
is concentrated.’ This volume is an attempt to embody this idea in a 
form for practical use. Irving, Motley, Macaulay, Prescott, Greene, 
Froude, Mommsen, Guizot, and Gibbon are among the authors rep- 
resented; and the subjects treated cover nearly all the greatest events 
and greatest characters of time. The book is one of indescribable 
interest. The boy or girl who is not fascinated by it must be dull in- 
deed, Blessed be the day when it shall be introduced into our high- 
schools, in the place of the dry and wearisome ‘ facts and figures’ of 
the ‘general history *!’’—Jowa Normal Monthly. 


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APPLETONSDS’ 


AMERICAN STANDARD GEOGRAPHIES, 
BASED ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE SCIENCE OF EDUCATION, 


And giving Special Prominence to the Industrial, Commer- 
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The remarkable success which Appletons’ Readers have at- 
tained is due to the fact that no effort or expense was spared to 
make them not only mechanically superior, but practically and 
distinctively superior, in their embodiment of the best results of 
modern experience in teaching, and of the methods followed by 
the most successful and intelligent educators. In the same 
spirit, and with the same high aim, this new series of Geog- 
raphies has been prepared, and it is in harmony, therefore, with 
the active educational thought of the times. 

The series comprises two books for graded schools. 


I. Appletons’ Elementary Geography. Small 4to. 108 
pages. 
In this book the aim is to develop and present the subject 
in accordance with the views of advanced teachers, and to em- 
body the most natural and philosophical system. 


II, Appletons’ Higher Geography. Large 4to. 129 
pages. 

Prominence is given to a consideration of the leading Indus- 
tries, as the results of certain physical conditions, and es- 
pecially to Commerce, a feature which will not fail to be ac- 
ceptable in this practical age. The pupil is taught to what the 
great cities owe their growth, the main routes of travel and 
traffic, where and how our surplus products find a market, 
whence we obtain the chief articles of daily use, and the ex- 
ports which the leading commercial cities contribute to the 
world’s supply. 

The Maps, both Political and Physical, challenge comparison 
in point of correctness, distinctness, and artistic finish. Special 
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‘UNIFORM WORKS OF GENERAL UTILITY. 


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THE VERBALIST: 


A Manual devoted to Brief Discussions of the Right and the 
Wrong Use of Words, and to some other Matters of Interest 
to those who would Speak and Write with Propriety, includ- 
ing a Treatise on Punctuation. By ALrrep AYREs. 


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GRAMMAR WITHOUT A MASTER. 





The English Grammar of William Cobbett. 


Carefully revised and annotated by ALFRED AYRES, 
Author of “ The Orthoépist,”’ ‘*‘ The Verbalist,”’ etc. 


18mo, cloth. $1.00. 


. ‘Mr. Alfred Ayres, author of ‘The Orthoépist’ and ‘The Ver. 
jalist,’ has conferred another boon on persons desiring to improve 
éhemselves in the practical use of our language, by putting within 
their reach, iu convenient and attractive form, the jdmirable ‘Eng- 
lish Grammar of William Cobbeit,’ with notes and additions. The 
original work, as Mr. Ayres justly remarks, is ‘probably the most 
READABLE GRAMMAR EVER WRITTEN,’ AND UNSURPASSED FOR THE 
PURPOSES OF SELF-EDUCATION.’’ — Albany Cultivator and Country 
Gentleman. 


**One of the most practical and valuable of all the contributicns 
that have ever been made tothe study of the English language, and 
BY FAR THE MOST READABLE AND ENTERTAINING OF ALL. Mr. Ayres 
finds a good deal to criticise in Cobbett’s work, particularly in regard 
to the proper use of the relative pronouns, and some of his comments 
are as keen and pungent as Cobbett’s own.”—New Engiand Farmer 
(Boston). 


“ Cobbett’s Grammar is a good one for any student of English, 
and from some points of view greatly to be admired, especially as a 
manual for people who wish to learn to sPEAK AND WRITE ENGLISH 
WITHOUT A MASTER. The present editor has paid Cobbett off in his 
own coin, and applied his criticism to him as freely as he did to 
others. He calls attention (1) to the points in which he varies from 
what is now regarded as good usage, (2) to the few errors of diction 
in his work, and (3) toa more discriminating use of the relative pro- 
nouns. This is the particular merit claimed by Mr. Ayres for his 
work. The pronominal corrections are made with the view of bring- 
ing out the fact, too little known or observed, that who and which 
are the co-ordinating relative pronouns, while ¢hat is the restrictive 
relative pronoun.’’—New York Independent. 


“The very best grammar to put into the hands of the intelligent 
pupil.” —Philadelphia North American. 


‘**Mr. Ayres has done a genuine service in his revision of this use- 
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‘ THE BEST SELF-TEACHING GRAMMAR IN THE LANGUAGE.” -— 
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“The book will be found a valuable one by teachers who teach ; 
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APPLETONS’ 
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FHE SERIES: 


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Davis. 


I], NUMBERS APPLIED. 


A Complete Arithmetic for all Grades, Pre- 
pared-on the Inductive Method, with many 
new and especially practical features. By 
ANDREW J. RICKOFF. 





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The appearance of this series has been awaited with great in- 
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| Meth Kin. Introductory price, 54 cents. 
} 


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ih 
ij By Professor JAMES JOHONNOT, 


AUTHOR OF “HISTORY SERIES,” “PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF TEACH- 
/ ING,” “GEOGRAPHIOAL READER,” “HOW WE LIVE,” “SEN- 
TENCE AND WORD BOOK,” ETO. 


The Natural History Series contains a full course of graded 
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with useful information. 
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HISTORICAL SERIES. 


Book L—GRANDFATHER’S STORIES. 
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Boox IL—STORIES OF HEROIC DEEDS. 
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Part L—STORIES OF OTHER LANDS. 
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Part IL—TEN GREAT EVENTS IN HIS- 
TORY. 


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By Professor JAMES JOHONNOT, 


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APPLETONS’ 
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 


Prepared on a new and original plan. Richly illustrated with 
engravings, diagrams, and maps in color, and ineluding a 
separate chapter on. the geological history and. the physical teat- 
ures of the United States. By 


JOHN D. QUACKENBOS, A.M., M.D., 

‘Adjunct Professor of the English Language and Literature, 

Columbia Ccllege, New York, Literary Editor. 

JOHN S. NEWBERRY, M.D., LL. D., 

Professor of Geology and Paleontology, Columbia College. 
CHARLES H. HITCHCOCK, Ph.D., 

Professor of Geology and Mineralogy, Dartmouth College. 
W. LE CONTE STEVENS, Ph. D., 

Professor of Physics, Packer Collegiate Institute. 
HENRY GANNETT, E. M., 

Chief Geographer of the United States Geological Survey. 
WILLIAM H. DALL, 

Of the United States National Museum. 
C. HART MERRILAM, M.D., 

Ornithologist of the Department of Agriculture. 
NATHANIEL L. BRITTON, E.M., Ph. Ds 

Lecturer in Botany, Columbia College. 
GEORGE F. KUNZ, 

Gem Expert and Mineralogist with Messrs. Tiffany & Co., 

New York. 

Lieutenant GEORGE M. STONEY, 

Naval Department, Washington. 


The unique and valuable features embodied in Appletons’ New 
Physical Geography place it, at once, in advance of any work of 
the kind heretofore issued. The corps of scientific specialists 
enlisted in the preparation of this book presents an array of 
talent never before united in the making of a single text-book. 
The confidence of teachers everywhere must at once be secured 
when it is known that such a work is on the market. 

Price for introduction or examination, $1.60. Specimen pages, etec., 
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SS a ee 





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Book V.—How Nations Grow and Decay. 


ae Cone 


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saan 


The Historical Series has been prepared on the same plan as 
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will be found equally interesting and attractive. For supple- 





ae ee 











\ : 
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ee 

































RE GEA S ans ey 
ton) 


APPLETONS’ 
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 


Prepared on a new and original plan. Richly illustrated with 





engravings, diagrams, and maps in color, and including a sep- 
arate chapter on the geological history and the physical features 
of the United States. By— 


JOHN D. QUACKENBOS, A. M., M.D., 
Adjunct Professor of the English Language and Literature, 
Columbia Cellege, New York, Literary EHaitor. 


JOHN S. NEWBERRY, M.D., LL. D., 
Professor of Geology and Palzontolezy, Columbia College. 


CHARLES H. HITCHCOCK, Ph.D., 
Professor of Gevlogy and Mineralozy, Dartmouth College. 


W. LE CONTE STEVENS, Ph.D., 

Professor of Physics, Packer Vollegiate Institute. 
HENRY GANNETT, E. M., 

Chief Geographer of the United States Geological Survey. 
WILLIAM H. DALL, 

Of the United States National Muscum. 


Cc. HART MERRIAM, M.D., 
Ornithologist of the Department of Agriculture. 
NATHANIEL L. BRITION, E. M., Ph. D., 
Lecturer in Botany, Columbia College. 
GEORGE F. KUNZ, 
Gem Expert and Mineralogist with Messrs. Tiffany & Co., 
New York. 
Lieutenant GEORGE M. STONEY, 


Naval Department, Washington. 


The unique and valuable features embodied in Appletons’ New 
Physical Geography place it, at once, in advance of any work of 
the kind heretofore issued. The corps of scientific specialists 
enlisted in the preparation of this book presents an array of 
tulent never before united in the making of a sinzle text-book. 
The confidence of teachers everywhere must at once be secured 
when it is known that sich a work is on the market. 

Price for introduction or examin ition. $1.60. Specimen pages, ete., 
forwarded on application. 


D. APPLETON & CO., PUBZISHERS, 
New York, Boston, CuH12aco, ATLANTA, SAN’ /RANCISCO. 


wn 





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